Article: Red Sox Acquire Reliever Jorge Alcala from Twins

[Seth Stohs]

The Red Sox have had several relief pitchers hit the Injured List (or the waiver wire) recently. Craig Breslow went to work on Wednesday night to take a flyer on 29-year-old right-hander Jorge Alcala. In exchange, he sent High-A Greenville infielder Andy Lugo to the Twins. 

So why would the Red Sox be interested in a reliever who, in 22 appearances in 2025 with the Minnesota Twins, is 0-2 with an 8.88 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP? In his 24 1/3 innings, he had 28 strikeouts (which is good), but he's given up 29 hits (not good) and 15 walks (not good). And why would they reach out to the Twins before they DFAd him to make the deal? Why did the agree to trade a talented, very young player rather than wait to see how the waiver wire played out? 

It's pretty simple, really. Jorge Alcala would have been claimed by a team ahead of the Red Sox on the waiver wire. When Jorge Alcala is pitching well, he can be a very dominant reliever. He throws a fastball that is averaging 97.1 mph this season. He has hit triple-digits with his fastball multiple times in recent seasons. His sinker averages 96.4 mph. He has a slider that can induce a ton of swing-and-miss when it's sharp, and that averaged 90.0 mph. He also throws a cutter that can be good at times and break some bats. Once in a while, he'll flip a slow curve in there to throw hitters off, and he also throws an occasional changeup. 

All that sounds great, right? But if you've watched Alcala over the past year, you likely have noted that he really is a two-pitch pitcher. He has a big fastball and it can be effective up in the zone. He has a slider that can be great, devastating when it's on. But sometimes he spikes it, and sometimes it spins, and then he walks guys or gives up very solid contact. A pitcher in the minor leagues, he was never able to be consistent with a third pitch. So yes, he throws a curveball every so often, and it's mostly a get-me-over pitch. And he has never been able to command his changeup.   

But as someone who has watched most of his 166 games pitched for the Twins going back to his late-2019 debut, Alcala is almost still the pitcher he was then. So much promise. Consistently in the upper-90s. Gets swings and miss. Twins fans hadn't seen that. Sure, he'd have a bad outing, and even a bad stretch. He missed most of the 2022 and 2023 seasons with shoulder issues, but whenever he came back from an IL stint or a trip to Triple-A, he typically became very good, and often times dominant. 

He was having a great season in 2024, working behind Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax. But it has been a big-time struggle since he had a really bad game against the Rangers in the second half. He came into a game with a three-run lead, and four batters later (and seemingly about six pitches later), the Rangers had a one-run lead. He was unable to stop the bleeding, and frankly, he hasn't been able to find it consistently since.   

It is entirely possible that a change of scenery is just what Alcala needs to turn things around. It is possible because the "stuff" is still there. But Andrew Bailey has his work cut out for him. Red Sox Director of Pitching Justin Willard was hired from the Twins organization, so he knows Alcala and has worked with him before. Maybe some familiarity will help. 

In addition, one of Alcala's good friends with the Twins was left-hander Jovani Moran. The Sox acquired the southpaw from the Twins on Christmas Eve in exchange for infielder Mickey Gasper. He missed all of the 2024 season after Tommy John surgery, and he has just recently begun his rehab assignment. He had six strikeouts in three innings for the FCL Red Sox. He has made just one appearance for High-A Greenville so far. But, like Alcala, Moran has a strong ability to miss bats when he's on, when he's throwing strikes. Adding those two arms could really help the Red Sox bullpen in the short term.

The other side of it is that the Red Sox need arms. Aroldis Chapman has been really strong as the team's closer. Justin Wilson, Greg Weissert are doing alright in trying to set him up. They could really use Garrett Whitlock to return to form. Cooper Criswell and Zack Kelly have been a bit better of late, but they have generally struggled. Criswell was optioned a couple days ago. Robert Stock was DFAd and outrighted. Liam Hendriks is on the IL. So is righty Nick Burdi and lefty Chris Murphy. Oh, and Justin Slaten was really good early and now he is on the Injured List. 

So, there is room for a pitcher like Alcala. Maybe it's a two-week trial. Maybe he is strong the rest of the season and pitches seventh and eighth innings in big games in August, September and October. He is capable, and if it doesn't work, this is the type of pitcher, the type of arm that teams should be trying to add for the fringes of their 26-man and/or 40-man rosters. 

(See Baseball Savant charts at the bottom of this article comparing his numbers in 2024 to the numbers in 2025. For sure he's walking too many, and he is getting a lot less swing and miss which is crucial since he's never really been a guy who gets chase.) 

What did the Red Sox give up to acquire Alcala on a flyer? 

The Twins will receive 21-year-old infielder Andy Lugo. In 44 games for the Greenville Drive this season, he was hitting .265/.327/.430 (.758) with 11 doubles, a triple, and four home runs. He also had four stolen bases, those it's notable that he stole 28 bases in 2024. He missed the entire 2023 season due to a quad strain. The Red Sox signed him from the Dominican Republic in 2021 for just $10,000.         

This season, he has played 37 games in the corner infield spots and four games in left field. In 2024, he played 50 games in the outfield and 37 games in the infield. So, he is capable of playing five or six positions. He got quite a bit of playing time for a very talented Greenville squad and is likely to be joining an equally talented Cedar Rapids Kernels team in the Midwest League. The Twins will certainly value his versatility. 

So, what do you think of the trade? It certainly isn't the kind of move that will excite too many fans. The experiment could be over in days or weeks, or Alcala could return to form and be a high-leverage, late-inning set up man. The range of potential outcomes make the move intriguing, at least.   

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[Bellhorn04]

Seems like a well-reasoned move.  

[Nick]

Well, I say if you throw enough mud onto the wall, eventually it will stick.

Injuries, injuries, injuries...

[Larry Cook]

I guess the twins were not interested in taking Kelly off our hands???

[mvp 78]

9 minutes ago, Larry Cook said:

I guess the twins were not interested in taking Kelly off our hands???

We know he can still pitch bp because he still pitches it in games. May as well keep him around. 

[Duran Is The Man]

i still can't believe the morons in the Sox front office traded pitching (Quinn Priester) for a low-level minor league outfielder (just what we need!). Yophery is currnetly hitting .193 while Priester has a .7 WAR on 61.2 innings pitched. his WAR would be 3rd on the Sox staff and his IP would be 2nd. good gawd. the Brewers once again take advantage of an inept Sox front office. then again, these are the same morons that traded Sale for a bag of balls. just unreal.

[Duran Is The Man]

8.88 ERA and 1.81 WHIP says it all. this reeks of desperation.

[mvp 78]

14 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

i still can't believe the morons in the Sox front office traded pitching (Quinn Priester) for a low-level minor league outfielder (just what we need!). Yophery is currnetly hitting .193 while Priester has a .7 WAR on 61.2 innings pitched. his WAR would be 3rd on the Sox staff and his IP would be 2nd. good gawd. the Brewers once again take advantage of an inept Sox front office. then again, these are the same morons that traded Sale for a bag of balls. just unreal.

Yophery Rodriguez PLUS 33rd pick (and slot money) PLUS John Holobetz (5th rounder last year)

[drewski6]

23 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Yophery Rodriguez PLUS 33rd pick (and slot money) PLUS John Holobetz (5th rounder last year)

They saw this as an opportunity to say "we spun Nick Yorke into all this" and couldnt resist.

[Seth Stohs]

On 6/12/2025 at 12:12 PM, Duran Is The Man said:

8.88 ERA and 1.81 WHIP says it all. this reeks of desperation.

... which is probably pretty accurate.