Ahead of Wednesday night's game with the Yankees, the Red Sox will reportedly promote a pitcher who has not made an appearance above Double-A.
The Boston Red Sox bullpen has found itself in dire straits after Sonny Gray's injury left them to cover 5.2 innings in Monday afternoon's win over Detroit. Now, the carousel will reportedly keep moving ahead of Wednesday night's game against the Yankees, with a surprising promotion.
According to 98.5 The Sports Hub and Section 10 Podcast's Tyler Milliken, the Red Sox will be promoting prospect Eduardo Rivera for his major league debut, just one day after he was promoted to Triple-A Worcester.
The move to promote Rivera will require a pair of countermoves, one to clear a spot on the 40-man roster and another to open up a place on the 26-man roster. According to MassLive's Chris Cotillo, the Red Sox will move Triston Casas to the 60-day IL after he suffered a setback in his recovery from a torn patellar tendon, while pitcher Jack Anderson will head back to Triple-A Worcester.
Anderson made three appearances for the Red Sox in his first taste of the big leagues, allowing three runs across eight innings.
About Rivera
Rivera, who has never appeared above Double-A, made two starts for Portland, where he was nearly untouchable, striking out 16 batters across 10 innings, allowing just one run. He was promoted to Worcester on Tuesday morning, before getting the call-up to the majors
He checks in at No. 33 on SoxProspects' Top 60 list for the Boston organization. The Oakland Athletics originally selected the 22-year-old lefty in the 11th round of the 2021 Draft. He signed with Boston in June 2024 after being released by Oakland a month earlier.
Rivera spent the 2025 season split between High-A Greenville and Portland, where he had a 2.48 ERA across 87 innings, with a K/9 of 11.2 and BB/9 of 4.8. He also appeared for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, making one start and one relief appearance, allowing three earned runs on three hits, striking out nine, and walking four in 6.2 innings.
According to SoxProspects, Rivera is a "Potential up-and-down low-leverage reliever who excels against left-handed hitters. Ceiling of a volatile high-leverage reliever or multi-inning bullpen arm...Has a wide-ranging arsenal with multiple pitches that can miss bats. Has clear plans of attack against right- and left-handed hitters. Fastball, changeup, and slider are primary offerings, with cutter and curveball both effective when used in sequence."
Per Cotillo, Rivera will be used in a long relief role out of the bullpen.
Rivera will get his first chance to make his major league debut on Wednesday night when the Red Sox host the Yankees in game two of a three-game set. Ranger Suarez takes the mound for Boston opposite Max Fried for New York. First pitch from Fenway Park set for 6:45 p.m. ET.
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