Red Sox roster moves: Abraham Toro designated for assignment, Richard Fitts recalled ahead of crucial Yankees’ series

The signing of first baseman Nathaniel Lowe by the Red Sox this week signaled the end for Abraham Toro.

Boston will designate Toro for assignment on Thursday and will activate infielder David Hamilton from Triple-A Worcester, according to The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey.

Toro played 76 games for the Red Sox after he was promoted from the WooSox following Triston Casas’ season-ending knee injury. Since his promotion, he platooned with Romy Gonzalez at first base and primarily played against right-handed pitching. Over the last two months, he struggled offensively, which made it easy for the Sox to pursue Lowe after the Nationals released him.

Following his big league promotion, the journeyman signed a minor-league deal with Boston over the winter and saw immediate success. He hit .330 with five homers and eight doubles and posted a .928 OPS in 27 games. Since June 13, his performance has imploded, hitting .194 with two homers, five doubles, and 26 strikeouts with a .524 OPS (49 games). In the month of August, Toro had just hit .137 with a .255 slugging percentage.

Lowe is expected to fill Toro’s role, playing against right-handed pitching, with Gonzalez continuing to face left-handed pitching. Gonzalez is hitting .340 with a 1.030 OPS against southpaws in 47 games. He will also play second base with Ceddanne Rafaela and Hamilton while providing depth at shortstop and third base, as needed.

Hamilton has played in 69 games for the Sox this season and is hitting .174 with three homers, three doubles, and a .492 OPS. He was sent back to Triple-A Worcester on Aug. 11, following the Red Sox activating catcher Ali Sanchez. He was recently designated for assignment by the Red Sox to make room for Lowe on the 26-man roster. Sanchez played in one game for Boston and was hitless in his only appearance. He was 5-for-21 with a couple of doubles as a member of the Blue Jays; the Sox claimed him off waivers.

FITTS TO THE 'PEN

The Sox are shuffling up their bullpen ahead of their four-game series with the Yankees beginning on Thursday night. Boston will be adding starter Richard Fitts to the bullpen and optioning right-handed reliever Isaiah Campbell to Triple-A Worcester.

Fitts has only pitched out of the starting rotation for both the Red Sox and WooSox this season. He will offer the Sox another reliever who can pitch in a bulk-innings role in the short term but could return back to the rotation.

According to MassLive, the Red Sox have had continued conversations as to how much longer they’ll use Walker Buehler in the rotation. Buehler is currently slated to pitch on Monday night in the Orioles' series opener in Baltimore.

Kyle Harrison and Fitts are options to replace Buehler in the rotation. It’s not clear whether the Sox would demote Buehler to the bullpen or just designate him for assignment. Another possible option to join the Red Sox’ 26-man roster was Cooper Criswell, but he was placed on the WooSox’ 7-day injured list on Wednesday with right elbow inflammation.

Criswell has spent most of the year pitching for the WooSox, posting a 3.70 ERA with 68 strikeouts and 28 walks in 65 2/3 innings. While with the Red Sox, he has a 3.57 ERA with nine strikeouts to five walks in 17 2/3 frames. He pitched seven one-run innings against the Astros on Aug. 1.

Fitts has never pitched out of the bullpen in the majors and only has one relief appearance in his professional career. He piggybacked left-hander Bailey Horn last season and tossed 4 1/3 innings of relief. At the time, the idea for Fitts to pitch in relief of Horn was to give him experience in the minors coming out of the bullpen. Boston did not want Fitts’ first bullpen appearance of his career to come in the majors immediately after being promoted for the first time last season.

The Sox’ bullpen will now feature Fitts, Jordan Hicks, Garrett Whitlock, Greg Weissert, Brennan Bernardino, Steven Matz, Justin Wilson, and Aroldis Chapman.

Justin Slaten made his first rehab appearance for the WooSox on Tuesday night, striking out the side on 15 pitches. 

Slaten has missed almost three months this season due to a shoulder issue, and the Sox are bringing him back slowly. He could see additional rehab outings with Worcester before he is recalled by the Red Sox.

Once he returns from the injured list, the Sox can slowly work Slaten back into high-leverage roles, and he could be the perfect option to get work in mop-up spots late in games. This season, he’s posted a 3.47 ERA with a 0.90 WHIP in 24 games. On top of that, he’s held opposing hitters to a .171 batting average.

Fitts last pitched in Iowa on Friday night, allowing two runs off five hits in five innings of work.

Sending Campbell back to the minors was a logical decision for Boston. Campbell has pitched in six games, totaling 7 2/3 innings, and recording a 7.04 ERA. He allowed three runs on four hits during a poor performance on Saturday night. 

Alex Cora had to use his All-Star closer to get the job done in the ninth to secure a 7-5 win over the Marlins. That decision proved costly because the 37-year-old had already pitched on Friday night, and with pitching in back-to-back games, it effectively made Chapman unavailable for Sunday.

Boston has been struggling to find a low-leverage reliever to pitch late in games this season. Righty Jorge Alcala was utilized in that role but was ineffective; he ultimately was designated for assignment and claimed by the Cardinals. Hicks has been horrific since he was acquired in the Rafael Devers trade with the Giants. His troubles continued on Monday night in the ninth inning versus Baltimore, allowing two runs off two hits in one inning of work. His ERA is 6.60 in 16 games with 14 strikeouts and 9 walks while with the Red Sox. 

The Sox had also recently used left-handed reliever Jovani Moran in that role, but he had been a complete dud since he was activated off the injured list. Boston optioned him back to Triple-A Worcester this week to make room for Bernardino.

KEY SERIES

The Sox and Yankees will play a key series with massive playoff implications on the line beginning Thursday night at the Bronx. The last time these two teams met was the weekend of Father’s Day, and the lasting image Red Sox fans have of that series is a series sweep and Devers’ final homer in a Boston uniform.

Both clubs look a lot different since they last met two months ago. The Red Sox have been surging in the standings but have slipped the last three games. Boston is sitting 1.5 games behind New York for the top wild-card spot in the American League. Both teams are chasing the AL East-leading Blue Jays (74-57).

The two rivals are fighting for playoff positioning, and if the two teams end up in the top two wild-card spots, they’d play each other in a best-of-three series against each other. The team that finishes with the better record will host the entire series, and given Boston's strong performance at Fenway Park (41-25), it is crucial for them to secure the top seed.

The series starting on Thursday night will be the first time Alex Bregman will be introduced to the Sox/Yanks rivalry. He was on the injured list with his quad injury the last time the two teams met.

“I’m definitely excited,” said Bregman. “Two really good teams getting after it. And I feel like we can switch [our recent misfortune] with one swing of the bat or, or one pitch or one great play on defense. Yeah, 100 percent, it was tough being out early in the year last time we played, and I’m very thankful to be back.”

Garrett Crochet and Max Fried will pitch in this series, but not against one another. Fried will pitch on Friday night, and Crochet will go on Saturday afternoon.

MAYER ON THE MEND

The rookie for the Red Sox, Marcelo Mayer, underwent successful right wrist arthroscopy on Wednesday at Mass General-Brigham Hospital. The procedure was performed by Dr. Matthew Leibman, the team announced.

Mayer suffered a tear in his TFCC (triangular fibrocartilage complex), and the recovery time is expected to be about three months. He is expected to be ready for spring training in 2026.

The 22-year-old received an anti-inflammatory injection in his injured wrist on Aug. 2, but it didn’t work the way both he and the Red Sox had hoped. He said that the shot “didn’t really do much,” and he had “a few good days and then kind of hit a wall.”

“I gave it my all,” Mayer said Sunday morning to reporters at Fenway Park ahead of the series finale with the Marlins. “Obviously with my options given, I could have had surgery when I first injured it or get the shot and try to do everything I can for the slight chance to come back and play. Obviously I’m really excited about what’s going on, and I want to help the team win. But it’s just the hand I’m dealt right now.”

This is the third straight season that he has been shut down for the remainder of the year for various injuries. He missed the final two months of the 2023 season with left shoulder inflammation. Last season, he was promoted to Triple-A Worcester with Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel but did not play in a game due to a lumbar injury, which ultimately cost him the second half of the season.

Mayer had the same wrist issue in 2022 but had a smaller tear of the TFCC and was given a cortisone shot. The triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) connects the bones in your forearm with bones in your wrist. The area is made up of ligaments, tendons, and cartilage, which helps support and stabilize your wrist, according to the Cleveland Clinic. 

“I gave it my all, obviously, with my options given,” Mayer said earlier this month. “I could have had surgery when I first injured it, or we could go with the (cortisone) shot and try to do everything I can for the slight chance to come back and play.

“But this is just the hand I’m dealt right now,” he continued. “(I thought surgery would be needed) when I hurt it. It didn’t feel good, by any means. I did it in ‘22 and got a cortisone shot. Usually, when you get a cortisone shot, (the problem) comes back later on. So I knew eventually I would going to need to do something about it. I knew that (surgery) was going to be on the table.”

With Mayer lost for the season, the Sox will lean on other internal infield depth to navigate through the final weeks of the year. Infielders Nate Eaton and Hamilton are now with Boston, leaving Nick Sogard and Mikey Romero as other internal options. Vaughn Grissom is not in the mix; he has landed on the WooSox’ 7-day injured list with a foot injury.

Grissom has put together a strong campaign for Worcester but has not gotten a look from the Red Sox. He’s hitting .270/.342/.441 with a .783 OPS, 24 doubles, and 13 homers in 96 games this season. Over the month of July, he was red-hot, hitting .324/.351/.606 with five home runs in 18 games.