Facing a 40-man roster crunch, the Red Sox made the somewhat surprising decision to designate pitcher Connor Seabold for assignment Thursday.
Boston officially announced the signing of two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber and designated Seabold to create a roster spot. The club will now have seven days to trade, release or waive the 26-year-old righty, who was ranked as the No. 22 prospect in the system, according to SoxProspects.com.
Originally acquired along with Nick Pivetta in the Aug. 2020 trade that sent Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree to Philadelphia, Seabold emerged as a mid-tier rotation prospect who has broken into the majors in each of the last two seasons. He pitched well at Triple-A Worcester in each of the last two seasons, posting a 3.50 ERA in 54 innings in 2021 and a 3.32 ERA in 86 ⅔ innings last year. That success didn’t translate into limited major league action as Seabold allowed 25 earned runs in 21 ⅓ innings (10.55 ERA) in six starts over the last two seasons.
Seabold has dealt with arm trouble in each of the last two seasons and lost some zip on his fastball, which only averaged 92.1 mph in the majors last season. The Red Sox have a good amount of rotation depth, with Kluber, Chris Sale, Pivetta, Garrett Whitlock, Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck and James Paxton in the mix for the Opening Day group and Josh Winckowski, Kutter Crawford, Bryan Mata, Chris Murphy and Brandon Walter all ticketed for Triple-A.
Seabold is the latest notable name to be lopped off the roster this offseason, joining Franchy Cordero, Eric Hosmer, Jeter Downs, Tyler Danish, Eduard Bazardo and Darwinzon Hernandez.
Kluber was signed to a one-year, $10 million contract that includes a team option for 2024. In total, it can max out at $27 million over two seasons if all bonuses are reached and the option is exercised.
MANAGER ALEX CORA wasn’t ready to pencil Brayan Bello into the Red Sox 2023 starting rotation just yet, but liked the 23-year-old’s chances.
“I don’t want to say he has a spot, but there’s a good chance that he will have a spot. He’s put in the work in the offseason,” Cora said. “What we saw toward the end of the season is something we really value. He grew a lot from the first start to the last.”
Bello actually struggled in his last start giving up four runs on 10 hits and two walks in an Oct. 1 loss to the Blue Jays. It’s his terrific September that has Cora and the Red Sox front office excited about his future. In 27 1/3 innings across five September starts, Bello gave up just five earned runs, striking out 27.
Cora visited Bello in the Dominican Republic during the offseason.
“He’s in a great place. He understands there’s work to do. There’s nothing given. He’s very talented,” Cora said. There’s a good chance we have a lot of young guys in that rotation. Whit, Houck, Bello. Those three guys are very talented.”
IN AN attempt to add outfield depth before spring training opens next month, the Red Sox are finalizing a minor league contract with veteran Greg Allen, according to sources.
Allen will make a $1.4 million base salary if he reaches the majors, according to a source. The 29-year-old (30 in March) will receive an invite to major league spring training and potentially compete for a bench job on the Opening Day roster.
Allen is a former Cleveland prospect who has yet to find prolonged major league success. He appeared in 220 games over four seasons with Cleveland from 2017 to 2020 before being traded to San Diego in a multiplayer deal that involved starter Mike Clevinger at the 2020 trade deadline. He has bounced around with the Padres, Yankees and Pirates over the last three seasons, playing a total of 62 games. In 2022, he hit .186 with two homers, eight RBI and a .531 OPS in 46 games in the majors with Pittsburgh and appeared in a handful of games at Triple-A.
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