The Boston Red Sox's pitching staff — as is the case with most others this time of year — is growing exhausted. The rotation that contains rookies Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett is slowing and the bullpen has had to pick up the slack. Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten being injured at the same time certainly hasn't helped matters.
The Sox have needed Triple-A arms in the 'pen to stay fresh. On August 17, Wyatt Olds became their latest call-up, first reported by Tyler Milliken of the "Section 10" podcast and later confirmed by Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. Raymond Burgos has been optioned to make roster space for him.
Before their August 16 series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Sox summoned Burgos to be their Triple-A reliever of the day. Burgos went four innings after a short, four-inning performance from Patrick Sandoval and allowed one run on two hits and a walk with one strikeout. Burgos has performed well in other long relief outings for the Sox, to the tune of a 2.70 ERA and 0.50 WHIP over 10 innings across three appearances.
Red Sox call up homegrown Triple-A reliever Wyatt Olds for MLB debut in exhausted bullpen
Olds' first outing with the Red Sox, whenever it comes, will be his MLB debut. The 27 year old has been in Boston's farm system since it selected him in the seventh round of the 2021 MLB Draft. He's appeared in Triple-A Worcester over the last three seasons but 2026 is the first year the Red Sox placed him in Triple-A out of spring training.
Olds' numbers don't jump off the page at first glance. He's posted a 5.33 ERA and 1.32 WHIP over 50.2 innings. But he's thrown 74 strikeouts, good for a 33.2 percent clip, which ranks in the 89th percentile among Triple-A arms.
The righty last pitched on August 15 but he hasn't looked great since the month started (five earned runs on 10 hits, 2.29 WHIP over 5.2 innings) but he's excelled at other times this year. Olds posted a stellar June during which he allowed one run on four hits with 14 strikeouts over 9.2 frames.
Olds will be tested against the Arizona Diamondbacks for his MLB debut. The Red Sox need him at his best as they hope to shake a losing funk — they've lost their last three series following their otherworldly winning stretch that ran from the first week of July and into August.
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