Red Sox Make Curious Decision With Latest Roster Move Amid Struggles

Boston could use a better option to improve the bullpen.

Red Sox Make Curious Decision With Latest Roster Move Amid Struggles

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The Boston Red Sox made a surprising addition to the roster ahead of the second game of an abbreviated doubleheader against the New York Mets on Saturday.

Boston had the opportunity to add a 27th player to the roster due to the aforementioned doubleheader and chose a pitcher who is not on the 40-man roster, nor has he ever appeared in a big league game.

Right-hander Norwith Gudiño will make his debut on Saturday during what would be best described as a middling season with Triple-A Worcester.

The 27-year-old has a 5.54 ERA with a 30-to-27 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .270 batting average against and 1.63 WHIP in 52 innings for the WooSox.

The Red Sox entered the week needing two bullpen games per rotation turn and Kutter Crawford was only able to go four innings due to the rain delay Friday. Two days prior, Brayan Bello was only able to go equally as far due to underperformance. There was an off day in-between but the bullpen is and will continue to be taxed. All of that is to say, there's a great chance Gudiño actually plays in this game. Given that he gives up a lot of hits and walks, it would be wise to temper expectations.

With the decision to buy or sell on the line in the coming games, Red Sox manager Alex Cora has to roll the dice with a struggling minor leaguer and that's just not acceptable.

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Published Jul 22, 2023

Scott Neville

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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