On Thursday afternoon, the Boston Red Sox called up veteran right hander Tayron Guerrero. As a result, fellow righty Zach Kelly has been sent down to Worcester. The Red Sox have been no stranger to making roster moves within the bullpen this year, with the majority of pitcher call ups going into reliever roles. From Jack Anderson to Tyler Samaniego, plenty of names have helped out over the course of the season so far. But this recent call up has a different feel to it.
Red Sox Call Up Veteran Pitcher Tayron Guerrero
Who Is Tayron Guerrero?
Guerrero is a long-time pitcher in professional baseball, having been around different teams’ organizations since 2009. In 2009 he was signed as an amateur free agent by the San Diego Padres. He stuck around for a while and finally got his shot in the majors in May of 2016. Two months later, he was a part of the Andrew Cashner trade that got him sent to Miami.
Over the next few years, he would struggle, getting DFA’ed by the Marlins and being stashed in the Chicago White Sox’s system. He would go back and forth between overseas leagues and the MLB. He went to the NPB, then got a chance with the Cincinnati Reds, then the Mexican League. Eventually, he would end up with the Red Sox. The 35-year-old finally gets another shot at the major leagues.
How Is Guerrero This Season?
Although he would back out due to personal reasons, Guerrero was one of 14 players selected to participate in the World Baseball Classic this past March month for Colombia (Roman Anthony was an injury replacement, not an initial selection). He would later show up in Worcester for the Red Sox. He took the role of what could be considered the closer in the minors, as he appeared in 15 games in relief, but finished half of them. In those games, he holds an ERA of 0.92 He’s let up a total of two runs in just under 20 innings, as well as striking out 22 of the 75 batters he’s faced.
An interesting comparison to be made (at least this season) would be Puerto Rican pitcher Eduardo Rivera, who got called up for a little bit about a month ago. Although Rivera never pitched in Triple A prior to his call up, they’re both around the same size, both have dominant fastballs, and both are strikeout pitchers. The only difference is Guerrero has far more experience (by about 13 years). Rivera’s fallen back a tiny bit in ERA since going from Portland to Worcester, but when looking at their profiles, they’re very similar.
One Positive and Negative
One positive about Guerrero is his pitch combo. His fastball can hit 100, making him yet another hard thrower in the system. But his slider is also very good, topping out around the mid 80’s or so. The one main issue with him however, is his lack of control. If he has it, his pitches are deadly. But if not, it’s a little rough to watch.
Zach Kelly Sent Down
In order to make room for Guerrero, Kelly was the one who had to be sent down to Triple A. The right hander has let up almost a hit an inning (14 hits compared to 16 innings pitched), but he’s also struck out almost a hitter an innings (also 14 to 16). He’s not part of the big three relievers of Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock, and Aroldis Chapman, but he’s been a decent reliever. It’s just tough to figure out who to send down. So, he had to be the guy.
The Last Word
With Guerrero’s experience and dominance this season in the minors, it should be interesting to see if he can bounce back and find a consistent place in this bullpen. While pitching is the least of the Red Sox’s concerns, the depth in the organization certainly helps, whether it’s due to injuries, trading for a bigger name, or finding someone to take over. Guerrero could pitch as soon as tonight against the Minnesota Twins.
Main Photo Credits: Sam Greene/The Enquirer-USA TODAY NETWORK
