Red Sox Make First Round of Spring Training Cuts

Spring training has been going on for nearly a month now, and the Red Sox have made their first cuts this week. On Friday morning, the team announced the first series of cuts to their spring training roster as top prospects Luis Perales and Jhostynxon Garcia were optioned to minor league camp. The first move comes as no surprise, considering that Perales is still recovering from Tommy John surgery and isn’t expected to get into any game action until June at the earliest. As he was on the 40-man roster, Perales was part of the major league camp, though besides running on the agility field and playing catch, he didn’t do much. He did get to do fielding practice but without throwing. The right-handed pitcher is the top pitching prospect for the Red Sox.

On the other hand, it's a bit of a surprise for Garcia's spring to end this early. The outfielder had been used frequently at the beginning of camp, though hestruggled a little at the plate. In 11 games and 21 at-bats, Garcia only had one hit with 10 strikeouts. Despite the numbers, the young outfielder still impressed. However, with Trayce Thompson having a great spring, there may have not been room to keep him around and allow both to get sufficient playing time. Garcia ended last season with the Portland Sea Dogs and seems likely to open the season with them again.

Joining the duo in being cut is a quartet of pitchers who were non-roster invites. Left-handed pitcher Jovani Morán and right-handers Robert Stock, Brian Van Belle, and Jacob Webb were all reassigned to minor league camp. Out of the four pitchers, Stock appeared in the most action, pitching in three games to less-than-stellar results. The 35-year old surrendered four runs across three innings pitched. In that span, he walked three and struck out four. Van Belle appeared in only two games: the exhibition against Northeastern and the game against Philadelphia on February 28. In that game he lasted a single inning, allowing three runs on four hits, including two home runs. Webb pitched in two games, tossing 2 2/3 innings without allowing a run. Morán did not appear in a single game as he continued to recover from surgery that kept him out all of 2024.

All four of these pitchers should expect to be in Worcester to begin the season, though it’s not yet known if Morán will start the season on the minor league injured list. Each of them has some experience pitching at the triple-A level or higher. The four will provide minor-league depth in the event of an injury or the need for reinforcements to the bullpen. After the first round of cuts, there are still plenty of noteworthy names competing for the last few spots on the opening day roster, especially with some opportunities opening due to the stomach bug that has spread throughout camp. Most notably the Big Three of Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and Marcelo Mayer are all remaining in major league camp.

UPDATE 3/9/25: 

The Red Sox announced Saturday morning, March 8th, that Yovanny Cruz was reassigned to minor league camp. The right-handed pitcher appeared in two games, throwing two innings and allowing six earned runs. 

With the roster move, the Red Sox now have 56 players in the Major League camp with 18 of them being non-roster invites.