Red Sox Lose Pair Of Hurlers As Phillies, Twins Poach Boston’s Pitching Staff
The Boston Red Sox went into the offseason with aspirations of revamping their pitching staff after their second consecutive last-place finish in the American League East.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has made some underwhelming changes but nothing that would significantly alter the team’s expectations.
While waiting out free agency and being active in the trade market, the Red Sox lost two depth options on the same day.
The Minnesota Twins claimed right-hander Zack Weiss and the Philadelphia Phillies claimed right-hander Max Castillo off of waivers Wednesday afternoon.
Weiss and Castillo were both designated for assignment in order to make room for catcher Tyler Heineman — acquired via trade from the New York Mets and infielder Romy González — claimed off waivers from the Chicago White Sox.
Weiss entered the fold late last season and made an impact in limited work — posting a 2.08 ERA in 8 2/3 innings last season for the Red Sox. While it was a strong run, the 31-year-old posted a 5.79 FIP in the aforementioned span and has a career 4.61 ERA in 27 1/3 innings at the major league level.
Castillo was much more intriguing at only 24 years old but has not done much to prove himself at the highest level — 5.43 ERA in 59 2/3 innings.
Both players were solid depth pieces, which became much more important given the fact that Breslow did not make near the amount of impactful additions as he was expected to.
It’ll be interesting to see how Breslow puts a bow on this offseason’s roster construction with exactly one week until pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
