Ahead of their upcoming series against the Detroit Tigers, the Boston Red Sox will make some changes to their pitching group. Thankfully, there are no other pitcher injuries to report on as Boston awaits confirmation of Ranger Suárez's status after his hamstring locked up on him against the Houston Astros.
The Red Sox are likely to select lefty Alec Gamboa to the 40-man roster, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Gamboa had an assignment clause on his minor league contract and Cotillo reports that other teams had interest in making the reliever an offer. The Red Sox will promote him to avoid giving him up.
Boston's corresponding move isn't yet clear, but someone from the bullpen is probably headed down to Worcester or designation for assignment. Zack Kelly has another option on his contract and he could be moved after making two appearances in the Astros series. Tyler Samaniego can also be optioned, especially since he and Gamboa are both lefties, but he's been so solid that the Red Sox might hope to avoid such a move. Ryan Watson has had a brutal stretch with the Red Sox (7.59 ERA in his last 10.2 innings pitched), but he's a Rule 5 Draft pick so he can't be optioned. Boston would have to offer him back to the San Francisco Giants to remove him from the bullpen.
Red Sox seemingly call up minor league pitcher Alec Gamboa after he triggers assignment clause in contract
Gamboa began his professional career in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, but he never appeared in the big leagues for them. He posted a 4.19 ERA over 19.1 innings with Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2025 before he asked for his release to pursue an opportunity to play in Korea.
Gamboa clocked a 3.58 ERA over 108 innings with the 2025 Lotte Giants of the KBO. He posted 117 strikeouts and 49 walks over 19 starts. The KBO named Gamboa player of the month for June after he posted a 1.72 ERA over five starts.
The WooSox have also used Gamboa as a starter. In three appearances, he's logged an underwhelming 6.23 ERA with 15 strikeouts and five walks in 13 innings.
Gamboa's command in the minor leagues has left something to be desired (1.69 WHIP, 17 hits in 13 innings) so he'll probably make his major league debut as a reliever. While the Red Sox's starter group is in a bad way with Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo, Garrett Crochet, Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval on the injrued list and Suárez could join them, Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett have looked too solid to pass on in the rotation.
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