Chad Tracy explains Red Sox roster moves, why 35-year-old ‘deserved’ first call-up since 2019

[Mickey the Mouth]

BOSTON — The Red Sox shuffled their bullpen Friday, not out of necessity, but to give a chance to a standout who had dominated Triple-A.

Ahead of a three-game series against the Twins, Boston called up righty Tyron Guerrero — not Tayron, as had been previously listed due to a clerical error that had been present throughout Guerrero’s professional career — and optioned righty Zack Kelly to Triple-A. Interim manager Chad Tracy explained that the move was about getting Guerrero — who had an 0.92 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 19 ⅔ innings with the WooSox — a chance to contribute at the big league level. Kelly, who posted scoreless appearances in 10 of his 12 games before being sent down (and a 3.31 ERA in 17 games overall), was simply the odd man out.


“Tayron deserves it. Zack probably didn’t,” Tracy explained, “but there’s part of it that stinks and it’s the life of a reliever with options. Guys have to go up and down sometimes. But he (Kelly) will be back.”

Guerrero, a 35-year-old veteran who has not pitched in the majors since 2019, was signed as a minor league free agent in January after pitching in Japan for part of last season. After a strong showing during spring training, the 6-foot-8 righty kept his momentum rolling in Triple-A. Tracy said the Red Sox felt like he had done enough to warrant a call-up and a spot on the 40-man roster (with injured righty Kutter Crawford shifted to the 60-day injured list to make room).

Tracy had a first-hand look at Guerrero in Worcester for the first month of the season before he took over for Alex Cora in late April.

“For me, watching (Guerrero) dating back to spring training and all the way through spring, I was kinda watching it,” Tracy said. “The velocity and stuff is there, but he threw a lot of strikes in spring training to the point where he was very much talked about during spring training.


“Then you watch as you go to the season, like, ‘Let’s see if this continues’ and he has continued to throw very hard and he’s continued to be in the strike zone. The results speak for themselves.”

Guerrero consistently flashed triple digits with his fastball in Triple-A and, according to Tracy, maxed out at 102.5 mph with his four-seamer in a recent outing.

“He throws really hard. That’s something to like,” Tracy said. “He just attacks and the velocity, believe it or not, was climbing over the last couple weeks. So a hard-thrower, big stuff that can get both handedness out and he’s deserved an opportunity to be here.”

The Red Sox have gotten phenomenal results from their bullpen all season, as evidenced by the group ranking second in baseball in ERA (2.98). Ahead of the late-inning trio of Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten, lefties Tyler Samaniego (1.10 ERA) and Jovaní Morán (2.81) have pitched well while righty Greg Weissert has shown encouraging signs in recent weeks. Rule 5 pick Ryan Watson has a 5.86 ERA, largely in mop-up duty, but the Red Sox would have to expose him to waivers, then offer him back to the Giants, if they choose to cut bait. That left Kelly, who despite logging a 1.64 ERA in his last 12 games dating back to April 18, could freely be optioned back to Triple-A for the first time since the first week of the season.


“That’s a hard one,” said Tracy. “The way we’ve performed, as a pitching staff, and especially our bullpen, there’s nobody you necessarily look at and say, ‘Man, that guy deserved that.’ The fact of the matter is — and it’s a crummy part of baseball sometimes — is that the life a reliever with options is tough. Sometimes, you’ve got to go up and down."

The Red Sox will have to make another roster move at some point this weekend when lefty Danny Coulombe, who has been out since May 2 due to cervical (neck) spasms, is ready to be activated. Notably, Guerrero is out of minor league options and can’t be sent down freely.

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