On November 6, any clubs with full 40-man rosters and players on the 60-day injured list had tough decisions to make — MLB's 60-day IL disappears in the offseason, and all players with long-term injuries must be moved back to the roster.
The Boston Red Sox's roster casualty was reliever Luis Guerrero, and the organization designated him for assignment. Luckily, he found his way back to the club soon after. The Red Sox had seven days to waive or trade the lefty, and on November 13, they announced that Guerrero has been outrighted to Triple-A Worcester.
Guerrero was a strange choice to be DFA'd at the time, and it's a relief to hear he's sticking with the organization. The Red Sox could've dropped Jovani Morán or Josh Winckowski, but instead trusted that Guerrero would return to the team that drafted him, thus retaining all three arms.
Red Sox retain homegrown reliever Luis Guerrero after he was DFA'd to make roster space
The 25-year-old posted 17.1 innings with the Red Sox last season and surrendered eight runs on nine hits with 14 walks and 10 strikeouts. In Triple-A, he clocked a 4.39 ERA with 23 strikeouts, 17 walks and one save on four opportunities over 26.2 frames.
Guerrero was born in the Dominican Republic, but grew up in the Boston area and was selected by the Red Sox in the 2021 MLB Draft. The former top prospect still needs to work on his command, but his upper-90s fastball is an intriguing offering, worth keeping in Boston.
Red Sox pitchers Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Crochet named to MLB First Team, Chapman wins AL Reliever of the Year
The Red Sox's pitching staff was well represented at the 2025 MLB Awards by Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Crochet. Both pitchers netted honors for their body of work in their first season with the Sox.
Both Chapman and Crochet were named to the All-MLB First Team among the other best players in baseball. Crochet was one of the top pitchers in the American League and finished second in AL Cy Young voting behind Tarik Skubal. He posted a 2.59 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, an 18-5 record, 225 strikeouts and 46 walks over 205.1 innings pitched.
Along with his All-MLB honors, Chapman received the AL Reliever of the Year Award. The closer revitalized his career with Boston and posted possibly the best season of his 16 years in the major leagues. He clocked a 1.17 ERA, a 0.701 WHIP, 85 strikeouts, 15 walks and 32 saves on 34 opportunities over 61.1 innings.
The Red Sox have both Chapman and Crochet under contract for 2026, and it's reassuring to know its pitching staff is bookended by two of the best flamethrowers in the game. All Boston has to do this offseason is find the No. 2 starter it needs to complement Crochet, and it could have one of the strongest pitching staffs in the AL.