Chad Tracy Knows the Red Sox's Immediate Bullpen Answers Lie In Worcester

Worcester, Ma – “We joked on Sunday how we got his pitch count extended to 18 [pitches]”.

Former Worcester manager Chad Tracy sat in his office talking about his old pitching staff, especially as the WooSox were dealing with being shorthanded due to a mixture of promotions to Boston and injuries. One man who remained available and has been a consistent force out of the bullpen for Tracy has been right-handed reliever Tayron Guerrero.

Guerrero, who signed a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training, last pitched in the majors way back in 2019, though that hasn’t stopped him from attempting to get back there. Now 35 years old, he’s fighting to get called up as he dominates the competition at Triple-A with a fastball that has hit triple digits. Having appeared in nine games, Guerrero has tossed 10 innings and allowed just one run on seven hits and three walks. In that span he struck out 11 batters and unofficially claimed the closer’s role for himself by earning three saves and finishing off five games. His dominance has been that good that it’s been tough to stretch him out.

“In the five outings before that he had thrown 13 pitches and 11 pitches. He’s been pretty dominant. So, he’s been pretty locked down for us,” Tracy explained when talking about Guerrero’s pitch counts. In his last outing with Tracy as his manager, the right-hander pitched multiple innings for the first time all year, tossing 29 pitches. “He looks great, throwing hard and all spring and here he’s in the [strike] zone. He’s thrown nothing but strikes since I laid eyes on him.”

The Red Sox could use an arm like his in the bullpen. While Triple-A competition is not the same as that in the major leagues, the lack of middle inning relievers has hurt the Red Sox throughout April. What helps Guerrero is when you pair his 100 mph fastball with his slider, he’s been able to not just strikeout batters at a 28.2% rate but also get them to chase at one of the highest marks in all of Triple-A, generating a chase rate of 37.68%.

The only downside to Guerrero is his lack of options, meaning that should the Red Sox select his contract, they would need to either keep him on the roster for the remainder of the season or hope they could sneak the flamethrowing right-hander through waivers. That doesn’t seem to be an issue for Tracy, however.

“I think he’s definitely in the conversation. There’s no doubt. All of our guys here are, but with his [Guerrero’s] stuff, I know it’s not a situation where they want to bring him up for a day, you know? It’s a good arm. I’m sure at some point a lane will present where they feel like he can contribute for an extended period of time,” Tracy explained just before his own promotion to Boston.

The Red Sox have already tapped into their minor-league depth, adding two players to the 40-man roster to provide length in the bullpen. Right-hander Jack Anderson and left-hander Eduardo Rivera both made their major league debuts last month and provided innings for an otherwise-depleted bullpen.

Anderson, who was acquired in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft, made three appearances before being optioned back to Triple-A for a fresh arm. In his appearances he was mainly used during mop-up duty, being asked to pitch multiple innings when the game seemed out of hand or if Alex Cora needed to save his bullpen for another day. The right-hander flashed some impressive stuff, tossing eight innings and striking out six batters. The transformation for Anderson has been due to a slight increase in velocity along with a splitter that he added to his arsenal.

“I don’t think it was in his [Anderson’s] wildest dreams or mine that Jack was going to be called up to the big leagues that quick. But I think the reason he was called up was he gets in the zone. He throws a lot of strikes and has the ability to get quick outs. The outings we’ve seen here, he gets in the zone and he’s in the zone often,” Tracy said.

Much like Anderson, Rivera was called up (and replaced Anderson) when the Red Sox needed an extra arm. The left-hander had just been called up to Worcester when that same night he was given the news of being promoted once more to Boston before throwing even a single pitch in Triple-A. Upon joining Boston, there was uncertainty if he would pitch out of the bullpen or be a spot starter in the Yankees series as starter Brayan Bello was pushed back to Friday.

In the end that was decided when the 6-foot-7 left-hander came on in relief during the April 22 game. Armed with a fastball that can top out at 99 mph, Rivera dominated in relief as he tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit. The left-hander’s time in Boston was short, however, being sent back down to Worcester so that the team could promote Payton Tolle.

Despite that, the left-hander who has a three-pitch mix led by his powerful fastball should see his name called once more when needed. Just 22 years old, he was going to be Rule 5 eligible after this season, and the team would have needed to make a decision on him sooner or later. Now. they’ll have plenty of opportunities to see what he can do.

The Red Sox also have another other option they could turn to for relief help in the form of veteran right-hander Seth Martinez.

Martinez has had an interesting season, as his numbers have been hurt by the long ball; having tossed 20 innings, the right-hander has a 4.95 ERA thanks in part to six home runs he’s allowed. Despite that, opponents are hitting just .194 against him and he limits walks as well as anyone in Worcester. Despite the home run problems, he’s also managed to limit hard hits, allowing them at just under 32% of the time.

There’s no denying that the bullpen was the weakest area of the team entering the season and while it has cost the team a few games, it’s never too early to try and improve. The Red Sox have options waiting at Triple-A to come up and help, it’s just a matter of Craig Breslow making the call.

Interested in learning more about the Boston Red Sox's top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!