The Red Sox are taking a swing at bolstering their bullpen.
Boston acquired right-handed reliever Jorge Alcala in exchange for 21-year-old prospect Andy Lugo, the teams announced Wednesday.
Alcala has struggled mightily this season, posting an 8.88 ERA across 22 appearances.
He’s allowed 24 earned runs across 24 1/3 innings pitched.
Thought his 2025 ERA isn’t pretty, the 29-year-old has shown promise throughout his career.
He tallied a 3.24 ERA and an 8.5% walk rate in nearly 60 innings of work last season and owned a 3.64 career ERA entering the year.
And through this year’s struggles, Alcala still has a 24.6% strikeout rate and is striking out a career-high 10.4 batters per nine innings.
The Red Sox are 34-36 and down two righty relievers with Liam Hendriks and Justin Slaten on the injured list, so they’ll hope Alcala can find his form and help cover some innings from the right side.
To make room for Alcala on the 40-man roster, Boston designated Brian Van Belle for assignment. Van Belle was just selected to the active roster Monday, but never made his big-league debut.
The Red Sox’s bullpen has been solid this season, posting the eighth-best ERA in MLB at 3.51.
Their strikeouts, however, have been slightly below league-average at 8.52 per nine innings, which is where Alcala’s services could help.
As for Minnesota, moving Alcala freed up room on its 26-man roster for left-hander Joey Wentz. The Twins claimed the southpaw Wednesday off waivers from the Pirates.
The 27-year-old has spent most of his four-year MLB career with the Tigers, posting a 5.81 ERA with the franchise. He’s tallied a 3.32 ERA with the Pirates across the last two seasons.
Minnesota’s trade return for Alcala, Lugo, had a .265 /.327/.430 slashline across 44 games this season for Boston’s High-A affiliate.
He’s been in Boston’s system since 2022, splitting time between first base, third base and left field.