After a brief demotion, Greg Weissert has served an important role in the Boston bullpen.
After a historic July that saw the Boston Red Sox use high-leverage arms on a near-nightly basis, one of baseball's best bullpens became injury-ravaged, losing Garrett Whitlock, Tyron Guerrero, and Justin Slaten to fatigue-related injuries. The losses of Whitlock, Slaten, and Guerrero forced interim manager Chad Tracy to turn to other relievers in high-leverage spots. Among those arms is right-hander Greg Weissert, who, after a brief trip to Triple-A Worcester, has come up huge for the bullpen.
In his first 48 appearances of the season, Weissert posted a 3.97 ERA in 45.1 innings pitched. The 31-year-old right-hander struggled in particular when taking over in situations with men already on base, allowing 13 of 29 inherited runners to score, which, at the time, was the third-most among all relievers.
After needing 34 pitches to get through an inning in Boston's 13-inning marathon win over the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 6, Weissert fell victim to the numbers game, getting optioned to Triple-A Worcester on Aug. 7 in favor of a fresher arm. However, it wound up being just a six-day trip as he was recalled on Aug. 13 when the team placed Whitlock on the IL.
In 12 appearances since being recalled, Weissert has more than made up for the losses of Whitlock, who returned on Aug. 29, Guerrero, who is slated to return ahead of Wednesday's game in Texas and Slaten. He's allowed only two earned runs on 11 hits, striking out 13 and walking only four in 10.2 innings of work. Most importantly, Weissert has performed much better when entering 'dirty' innings, allowing only one of seven inherited runners to score.
Despite Whitlock's return and Guerrero's imminent return, Weissert's reemergence as a reliable option will help in the final 11 games of the regular season and the postseason run, as Tracy announced Tuesday that Slaten will not return in 2026 after undergoing a PRP injection in his right elbow to treat degenerative changes in his flexor mass.
Up next for the Sox
After falling 4-2 in Tuesday night's series opener against the Texas Rangers, the Red Sox will look to even up the series in game two of three from Globe Life Field on Wednesday night. Rookie left-hander Jake Bennett (9-7, 3.69 ERA) will get the start for Boston opposite fellow southpaw MacKenzie Gore (8-11, 4.62 ERA) for Texas. First pitch is set for 8:05 p.m. ET.
