The Boston Red Sox are going for a series win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday Night Baseball after a 17-0 rout at Fenway Park on Saturday. It was a tremendous way for the team to rebound from Friday's stinker.
Give them some credit, though -- the roster has been a revolving door thanks to injuries and underperformances. The Sox have managed to persevere despite some troubling news.
On Sunday morning, they made a roster move to address the pitching staff after testing a few arms out at Triple-A. It appears the stints for Cooper Criswell and Naoyuki Uwasawa paid off because Criswell has been solid in his first three games with the Sox, and Uwasawa just got a promotion.
Boston has called up the Japanese right-hander on Sunday and designated Joely Rodriguez for assignment -- a move fans were likely calling for because they didn't want the left-hander on the Opening Day roster to begin with.
Could the Red Sox end up looking like geniuses after potentially capitalizing on a mistake by the Tampa Bay Rays, who dumped Uwasawa right before the start of the season?
#RedSox call up RHP Naoyuki Uwasawa from Worcester. Joely Rodriguez was DFA'd.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) April 28, 2024
11 IP, 15 H, 8 ER for Rodriguez.
Uwasawa in three AAA starts: 15 15 8 8 4 17. Rays signed him to a minor league deal and didn't think his stuff played at the MLB level. Sold him to the Sox.
Red Sox make roster move to help pitching, sneak in brutal Triston Casas decision
Uwasawa still has some work to do, but he's improved lately at Triple-A, and his 17 strikeouts and four walks in 15 innings might be enough to show he's ready for big-league action. At this rate, anything's better than Rodriguez.
But fans will be upset to hear this colliding with Saturday's tough news. Though the Red Sox addressed Triston Casas' absence by trading for Cubs slugger Garrett Cooper, that news coincided with the Sox placing Casas on the 60-day IL.
Fans knew the injury was concerning, but Casas is now officially sidelined for at least two months. Before the official roster move, that lengthy of an absence was only speculated upon, with timetables ranging from 5-9 weeks.
The Red Sox placed Triston Casas on the 60-day injured list.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) April 27, 2024
At the very least, there will be no more guessing games that further stress out Sox fans as it pertains to Casas. The recovery period is now official, and should give the slugging first baseman enough time to get back to full strength.
We hope, that is.