Recent Boston Red Sox Relief Pitcher Waiver Claim Performing Well In First Triple-A Action

Just days before they added a pair of relief pitchers at the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline, the Boston Red Sox claimed former Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Yohan Ramirez off of the waiver wire. Although the 29-year-old gave up two earned runs in his only 1.1-inning outing with Boston, he could become an option when rosters expand in September.

Ramirez was sent down to the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox on August 2nd and has since posted a 3.38 ERA in 10.2 innings with over nine strikeouts per nine innings. He continued to flash the elite potential in his arsenal in his most recent outing, striking out the side in the ninth inning on Tuesday.

Ramirez's most consistent issue has been maintaining control over his pitches but the advanced metrics and movement data profile his arsenal as incredibly electric. The movement on each of his pitches also plays well into the recently introduced offspeed-preferred pitching philosophy in the organization.

When you add in the internal factor of injuries continuing to pop up in the bullpen with both Lucas Sims and Luis Garcia being put onto the Injured List recently, Ramirez could become one of their best options down the stretch.

Some fans may criticize even the mention of Ramirez as a future piece due to his subpar surface numbers, but his ability to throw multiple pitches with metrics achieved by few MLB pitchers warrants at least some level of consideration.

If the pitching staff in AAA can continue decreasing the number of free passes he allows and honing his control a bit in the next week, seeing Ramirez making appearances out of the Red Sox bullpen in September would not be out of the picture.