Red Sox Roster Moves: Boston promotes lefty Eduardo Rivera in surprise call-up; Kutter Crawford remains 'shut down'

The Red Sox entered the season with pitching depth as a clear organizational strength, but that depth has quickly been tested. As a result, Boston is turning to young left-hander Eduardo Rivera, who is set to make the jump from Double-A to the big leagues for his debut.

Rivera was promoted to Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday and was scheduled to pitch Thursday in a piggyback role behind Alec Gamboa against the Syracuse Mets at Polar Park. Instead, plans changed, Rivera will be added to the 40-man roster and head to Fenway Park for Wednesday night’s game against the Yankees.

The Red Sox are optioning right-hander Jack Anderson to Triple-A Worcester to make room for Rivera. Anderson made three multi-inning appearances after debuting last week in Minneapolis, posting a 3.38 ERA with six strikeouts over eight innings. He allowed one run on four hits across two innings in Tuesday’s loss to the Yankees.

Rivera, 22, signed with Boston as a minor league free agent in 2024 after being released by the Athletics, who originally selected him in the 10th round of the 2021 MLB Draft. The left-hander impressed in 2025, posting a 2.48 ERA over 87 innings between High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland.

This spring, Rivera was among several Red Sox players who left camp to compete in the World Baseball Classic. Pitching for Puerto Rico, he struck out nine batters while allowing three runs on two hits, four walks, and a hit batter over 6 2/3 innings across two appearances.

 "I watched him throw a couple outings on TV (in WBC) and it looks like he's got really good stuff, but I didn't get to see him throw a lot in person. So I'm looking forward to that," WooSox manager Chad Tracy said about Rivera prior to Worcester's game onTuesday.

The 6-foot-7, 237-pound left-hander is an imposing presence on the mound, though command has been an issue throughout his minor league career. While in the Athletics system, Rivera never advanced beyond A-ball prior to his release. He has yet to crack Baseball America’s Top 100, but MLB Pipeline ranks him as the Red Sox’s No. 26 prospect, while SoxProspects slots him at No. 33.

Rivera features a 93–96 mph fastball that can touch 98 with movement and struck out 29.7% of batters last season, though he also carried a 13% walk rate. His five-pitch mix includes a cutter (87–89 mph), slider (83–86 mph), changeup (85–89 mph), and curveball (78–80 mph).

It remains unclear how Boston plans to deploy Rivera at the big league level, but he joins a pitching staff already heavy on left-handers. The bullpen includes Aroldis Chapman, Danny Coulombe, and Jovani Moran, while Garrett Crochet, Connelly Early, and Ranger Suárez anchor the rotation, making Rivera the seventh southpaw on the active roster.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Red Sox could move Triston Casas or Kutter Crawford to the 60-day injured list. 

Crawford 'Shut Down'

Crawford’s MRI revealed only flexor tendon irritation, but the right-hander has been shut down from throwing again as he attempts to return after more than a year away.

Crawford, who was pulled from a rehab outing with the WooSox after just one appearance last week, said he was relieved there was no structural damage. Still, the latest setback has been a frustrating one.

“I’m feeling alright. The elbow is a little irritated from my rehab assignment,” Crawford said to reporters on Tuesday prior to the start of the series with the Yankees from Fenway Park. “I did get an image as a precautionary measure. Structurally, everything is good. There’s just some inflammation and irritation around the flexor tendon. Currently, I’m shut down waiting on strength to come back up to baseline.”

The right-hander missed all of last season due to knee and wrist injuries but had finally returned for a rehab start on April 11 with Triple-A Worcester. In that outing, he allowed four runs on six hits, including three home runs, while walking one and striking out five over three innings.

Crawford said he began feeling elbow soreness during the appearance, which worsened as the outing progressed. After reporting it to the team, he was shut down from throwing and later underwent an MRI. 

“I felt it getting tighter from the first inning all the way to the third. By the third inning, it felt as though I couldn’t throw the baseball 100%,” Crawford said. “The flexor tendon just wasn’t necessarily happy after that outing. I don’t know if it was the intent, the volume or whatever the case was.”

The 30-year-old entered camp this season healthy after a knee injury suffered in 2024 that lingered into last spring. As that issue improved, he then suffered a wrist injury in a household accident that required season-ending surgery.

Crawford was slowed again this spring by the flu and remained in Fort Myers after camp broke to face hitters in simulated games before reporting to Worcester. He hasn’t appeared in a major league game since setting career highs with 33 starts and 182 2/3 innings in 2024.

“It’s definitely frustrating,” he said. “There’s a number of things: the knee, the wrist. In the rehab assignment, I had no issues with any of that stuff so it’s frustrating.”

Crawford will have to wait before resuming throwing. Once he’s cleared to play catch, he’ll need to restart a full progression as he works his way back to a major league mound.

“It’s moreso based on my strength,” Crawford said. “My strength was lower than it was in spring training after my rehab assignment. It is trending in the right direction since then, which is good, but we just have a little bit more to go before they want to see me throw again.”

Sandoval Injury Not Serious 

Patrick Sandoval has also been shut down from his rehab assignment with the WooSox after experiencing biceps soreness following his last outing in Nashville.  

“He’s still here, still sore,” Alex Cora said. “He’s not going to make his start this week. Hopefully, he’ll get better. I think there’s a few things that, we’ll try to help him get through it, not only physically but mentally.

“He’s a hard worker. I bet throughout the process, there have been really good days and days we’ve got to push him and help him mentally. I’m not saying that’s the case but we’re here to help him out. It’s been a long process and one where he’d love to be out on the mound pitching for us. That’s not the case, so we’ll use every resource and help him out.”

Sandoval’s biceps soreness subsides in the next week or so, the Red Sox could send him back out on a rehab assignment with either Portland or Worcester. The left-hander is expected to factor into the big league mix at some point this season.