Tyron Guerrero Traveled Around the World For Another Chance in MLB. What Does He Bring to the Red Sox?

Worcester, MA – “It’s cool having his kids in here and then walking out you can hear his kid, one of his kids, saying ‘you going to the big leagues’ in Spanish. So, that was like, right out of a movie. And I was like, this is cool,” Iggy Suarez explained to media when asked about the team’s latest promotion to Boston.

For Tyron Guerrero (formally Tayron due to a clerical error), making it back to the major leagues has been an arduous journey that’s seen him toil away in the minor leagues, various winter leagues, the Mexican League and in Japan for the Chiba Lotte Marines. It was never a question of how much he wanted it, as he gave it his all at every stop. All for the opportunity to pitch in the majors.

And when that opportunity came, he didn’t believe it. Sitting in Suarez’s room with his two sons by his side, he finally realized his dream.

“You could see it, like a ‘really?’ and in my head I was like, well have you seen the numbers you’ve put up? But really you could see, it was almost like a finally or this is awesome. It seemed like it was the first time he’s heard that [being promoted],” Suarez said.

Guerrero, who didn’t begin playing baseball until he was 16 years old after falling in love with the sport thanks to the 2007 Red Sox team, last played in the majors in 2019. He was still a 28-year-old coming off 60 appearances with the Miami Marlins that year. Then, 2019 saw him appear in 52 games, but it was a struggle. Tossing 46 innings, he ended the season with an ERA of 6.26 and allowed 36 walks while striking out 43 batters. After the season, he would be designated for assignment on December 2 and was claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox four days later.

The right-hander would bounce around, being released by the White Sox and spending 2022 in Japan. He would return stateside on a minor-league contract with the Cincinnati Reds for 2023 but would struggle and was released by mid-June. He would be forced to finish the season pitching in Mexico. This saga continued for Guerrero, spending 2024 in the Los Angeles Angels organization before heading overseas to Japan once more.

Then, he got a chance with the Boston Red Sox.

“He’s been great, really great,” current Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said back when he managed Guerrero in Worcester. It’s been no secret that Tracy liked Guerrero as a pitcher, constantly talking highly about him during their time together in Triple-A. “He’s been pretty lock down for us. Throwing hard, 100 miles an hour and all spring and here [Worcester] he’s in the zone. He’s thrown nothing but strikes since I placed eyes on him. He’s been awfully good.”

Good was an understatement for Guerrero during his time in Worcester, as he appeared in 15 games and tossed 19 2/3 innings while allowing just two earned runs. That's good for a 0.92 ERA. Known for having a walk issue in his career, he managed to limit those to just six while striking out 22 batters. Opponents hit just .191 against him and slugged just .235.

He was a leader in the bullpen and now he’s getting his chance to pitch for the team that got him into baseball to begin with. As a pitcher, Guerrero is known for his fastball-slider combination that combines a 100+ mph fastball with sink and arm-side run with a mid-80s slider that can be unhittable when thrown for strikes. When he’s on, the right-hander is capable of being a shutdown reliever who can easily rack up strikeouts.

Unfortunately, the one major issue for Guerrero throughout his career has been his poor command and control. Entering the season, the reliever has walked 5.7 walks per nine innings for his career. Until he can show that the adjustments he made with Worcester are permanent, he will likely serve as a middle-innings reliever.

Guerrero made his Boston Red Sox debut Friday, May 22, pitching one inning as he entered with the bases loaded and nobody out. The right-hander walked one run in but managed to not allow another runner to cross home plate. Since his promotion, the right-hander has appeared in three games, tossing 3 2/3 innings while allowing four runs and striking out seven compared to just one free pass.

Guerrero worked extremely hard to get back to the major leagues, and his former manager Suarez agreed that no one deserves this opportunity more than him.

“Those journeymen guys, 35 [years old] and on the older side. Playing overseas and coming here and putting up the numbers that he has and to be selected to the roster, like that’s still awesome. When he said the ‘really’ part I was like, yeah man, you’ve earned it.”