In his short tenure as chief baseball officer of the Boston Red Sox, the team has seen Craig Breslow's keen eye for pitching talent. He's drafted multiple top pitching prospects — one made it to the big leagues in his first season of professional baseball — and helped revamp veterans' careers.
Breslow doesn't get it right every time, however. The Red Sox needed some bullpen depth midway through the 2025 season and turned to the Minnesota Twins and veteran righty Jorge Alcala to provide.
Boston traded for Alcala on June 11 after he'd posted a 8.88 ERA with 28 strikeouts and 15 walks over 24.1 innings with the Twins. He put on a slightly better show with the Red Sox, to the tune of a 3.31 ERA, 18 strikeouts and eight walks in 16.1 frames, but they designated him for assignment on August 5 after a few rocky outings.
The St. Louis Cardinals claimed Alcala two days later before he cleared waivers. He spent the rest of the season with the Cards, who were just a few games out of playoff contention when they picked him up. Alcala posted a 5.02 ERA with 15 strikeouts, seven walks and three holds over 15 appearances back in the Midwest.
Cardinals designate former Red Sox, Twins reliever for assignment to protect prospects before Rule 5 Draft
Alcala must not have made much of an impression on Chaim Bloom, who is newly in charge in St. Louis' front office. The Cardinals designated Alcala for assignment on November 18 to make room on their 40-man roster for multiple prospects they wish to protect from Decembers Rule 5 Draft (former Red Sox first base prospect, Blaze Jordan, is notably not among them). MLB Trade Rumors also predicted that he would make $2.1 in arbitration, which could be more than the Cardinals were comfortable paying.
Alcala will be put through waivers after his DFA, where another team could claim him. If he makes it through unclaimed, he could opt to enter free agency or stick with the Cardinals organization in the minor leagues.
The Red Sox need some experienced bullpen depth after their early offseason losses, which include former Cardinal Steven Matz, Justin Wilson, Brennan Bernardino, Chris Murphy and Josh Winckowski. A reunion with Alcala is probably not in the cards, since his tenure in Boston wasn't the smoothest, and the Sox's relief losses are dominated by lefties.