BOSTON — With their pitching depth decimated, the Red Sox are turning to a young arm who will be making the jump straight from Double-A to the big leagues when he debuts.
Boston will call up left-handed pitching prospect Eduardo Rivera ahead of Wednesday’s game, sources confirmed late Tuesday. Righty Jack Anderson will be optioned to Triple-A Worcester to clear a spot on the active roster. The Red Sox will also need to clear a 40-man roster to select Rivera and can do so by moving an injured player (like Triston Casas or Kutter Crawford) to the 60-day injured list.
It’s unclear whether Rivera will start or relieve in the majors. The 22-year-old dominated in two starts for Double-A Portland to start the year (1 earned run and 16 strikeouts in 10 innings) and was promoted to Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday but didn’t pitch. He last threw Thursday in Altoona, striking out nine in 5 ⅔ innings.
The Red Sox are in something of a fire drill when it comes to their pitching staff just three-plus weeks into the season. With Sonny Gray (hamstring strain) on the injured list, the club will need someone to make a start in the coming days. For now, Ranger Suárez (Wednesday) and Brayan Bello (Thursday) are set to start the next two games with Gray’s spot set to come around Saturday in Baltimore. Pitching prospect Payton Tolle seems like the most likely candidate to take Gray’s rotation spot but has not pitched in nine days. The pool of depth starters is limited with Johan Oviedo (flexor strain) and Tyler Uberstine (shoulder inflammation) sidelined and Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval both shut down after recent setbacks while on rehab assignments.
The Red Sox signed Rivera, 22, as a minor league free agent in 2024. He’s a former Athletics prospect who was a 10th-round pick in 2021 and released three years later. SoxProspects ranks Rivera as the No. 33 prospect in Boston’s system. Standing 6-foot-7, the Puerto Rico native had a strong season in 2025, logging a 2.48 ERA in 87 innings across two levels (High-A and Double-A). Rivera, who has struggled with a high walk rate as a minor leaguer, pitched for Puerto Rico in this year’s World Baseball Classic.
Anderson, a 26-year-old rookie, has made three multi-inning appearances since making his big league debut Wednesday in Minneapolis. He owns a 3.38 ERA with six strikeouts in eight innings, but allowed a run and four hits across two innings during Tuesday’s loss to the Yankees.
When Rivera pitches, he’ll be the fifth Red Sox pitcher to make his major league debut this season, joining Anderson, Tyler Samaniego, Uberstine and Ryan Watson. The Rivera-for-Anderson swap is the second pitching-related roster move of the last 48 hours for the Red Sox, who recalled Samaniego and placed Gray on the 15-day injured list before Tuesday’s game.
More Red Sox coverage
- Red Sox veteran: ‘We have to own it. We have to find a way to get better’
- Red Sox’ Kutter Crawford details latest injury setback: ‘Currently, I’m shut down’
- Red Sox’ Connelly Early loses strike zone in final inning of work, pays the price
- Red Sox reactions: Boston manages just 4 hits in shutout loss to Yankees, drops to 9-14
- Will Red Sox call up Payton Tolle with Sonny Gray out? ‘There’s a pretty good likelihood’
Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here.