Early Wednesday morning, after the loss to the New York Yankees yesterday, the Boston Red Sox made an interesting move. Per Chris Cotillo, they called up pitcher Eduardo Rivera, the 26th-best prospect in the Red Sox system. In the move, Boston sent Jack Anderson down to Worcester. Anderson had been having a good stretch of games. In addition to this transaction, Triston Casas has been moved to the 60-day IL to make room on the roster for Rivera as he recovers from his injury. With a new prospect coming up, there’s always a new face to know. And he might be appearing very soon.
Who Is Eduardo Rivera?
Rivera is a 6’7” left-hander who not only pitched for Portland this season (which he dominated), but also with Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. If there’s one thing he does well, it’s striking out hitters. Between the WBC and Double-A Portland, he has struck out 25 batters in 16 ⅔ innings pitched. His strikeout ability was unmatched in the minors last season, striking out 29.7% of batters behind Greenville and Portland. However, his tall stature has also caused control issues. His scouting report shows he’s got tremendous stuff, especially with his secondary pitches. But he walked 13% of the batters he faced in 2025.
But that was last season. This year in ten innings with the Sea Dogs, he’s dominated with a 0.90 ERA, with 66% of his pitches being strikes. He’s got 16 strikeouts compared to three walks. He’s having a great start to the minor league season. There is one part of this whole decision that is confusing, however.
Behind the Callup
On Tuesday, Rivera was called up to Triple-A Worcester from Portland. The Worcester Red Sox lost to the Syracuse Mets 12-3 yesterday, but Rivera did not make an appearance. Hours later, Rivera is called up to Boston. Now, it’s not completely uncommon to get the call straight from Double-A to the majors without a stop in Triple-A. In recent years, the first to come to mind was Nolan Schanuel in 2023, who was brought up just over a month after being drafted.
The last Red Sox prospect to do so was Darwinzon Hernandez in 2019. However, several players in the organization have done so in the last couple of decades. These names include Andrew Benintendi, Josh Reddick, and Justin Masterson, among others. While rare, the fast-tracking prospects are able to do so. However, seeing as he never made it past High-A with the Athletics prior to being released in 2024, it is weird. The hope is he can contribute, as Boston could use some help right now.
Is This the Right Move?
The Sox have plenty of injuries to their pitching staff currently, so a move had to be made sometime soon. But it wasn’t the move everyone was expecting. People most likely expected top prospect Payton Tolle to make his way back to Boston, seeing as he’s in Triple-A currently and he was close to coming up this past weekend. It does seem like a desperation move, just completely skimming over Worcester and grabbing someone from the level below.
It’s a toss-up whether it’s the right move. He has a hot arm right now, as mentioned above. But skipping a whole level of development is a bit risky when the jump is to the highest level. It’s certainly an interesting choice, but Rivera’s another arm in the deep minor league system that the Red Sox possess. Rivera could make his debut as soon as Wednesday night versus the New York Yankees.
Main Photo Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
