Red Sox Supposedly Recall Pitcher Who Could Address Possible Issue

Despite Boston’s last-place finish, the Red Sox’s bullpen was respectable last season and could be a relative strength once more in 2024.

However, the team is clearly biased toward right-handers, which perhaps explains why left-handed reliever Joely Rodríguez was allegedly signed again by the Red Sox.

Rodríguez was at the team’s spring training camp in Fort Myers, according to a report published by Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe on Thursday morning. Shortly afterward, Chris Cotillo of MassLive added—citing a source—that the 32-year-old southpaw signed a minor-league deal.

On their 40-man roster, the Red Sox only have four left-handed pitchers: Brennan Bernardino, Joe Jacques, Brandon Walter, and Chris Murphy. Rodríguez is the fifth non-roster lefty option in big-league camp, joining Lucas Luetge, Helcris Olivarez, Jorge Benitez, and Cam Booser.

After his unexpected rise to prominence in the Boston bullpen last season, Bernardino is probably going to start the season there. Who will accompany him from the previously named group, if anyone? We’ll find out in time. However, considering his impressive record before 2023, Rodríguez is undoubtedly a contender.

At JetBlue Park on Thursday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters, “I think it’s an open competition.” “We need to strike out both right-handers and left-handers with good pitches.”

In November, Rodríguez’s club option for 2024 was declined by the Red Sox, allowing him to become a free agent. Due to injuries, he only played in 11 games for Boston the previous season, but in those 11 innings, he had a 6.55 ERA.

However, Rodriguez had a respectable 2022 season with the New York Mets, highlighted by extremely excellent underlying analytics. Because of the year-to-year fluctuations in bullpen value in today’s MLB, he represents a valuable low-risk lottery ticket for the Red Sox.