The Red Sox have officially added left-hander Joely Rodríguez to their roster. In a corresponding move, right-hander Greg Weissert has been optioned to Triple-A Worcester. To make room on the 40-man roster, lefty James Paxton has been moved to the 60-day injured list. The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey was the first to report on these transactions.
Rodríguez, 32, signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox during the offseason. Although he started the season in the rotation, he struggled, posting a 6.55 ERA in 11 appearances. He was previously with the team last year but had similar numbers in limited playing time.
After being designated for assignment in April, Rodríguez accepted an outright assignment and spent time on the minor league injured list before returning to pitch 14 1/3 innings for Triple-A Worcester with an impressive 1.88 ERA. While his strikeout and walk rates were not ideal, his strong ground ball rate shows promise.
His career major league stats are consistent with his recent performance, with a 4.82 ERA, 22.8% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate, and 55.7% ground ball rate in 168 innings since his debut in 2016. Rodríguez will join Brennan Bernardino as the second lefty in the Red Sox bullpen and remains eligible for arbitration beyond this season.
On the other hand, James Paxton’s transfer to the 60-day IL was expected after suffering a calf injury that will likely sideline him for the remainder of the season. Manager Alex Cora confirmed that Paxton may not return until October, effectively ending his season unless the Red Sox make a deep playoff run.
