Red Sox acquire reliever Jorge Alcala from Twins to help bolster bullpen
The Red Sox acquired reliever Jorge Alcala from the Minnesota Twins Wednesday night in hopes the hard-throwing righty can help bolster the Boston bullpen.
The 29-year-old Alcala is a seven-year MLB veteran who has spent his entire career with Minnesota. He turned in a solid 2024 season when he had a 3.24 ERA, held opponents to a .190 batting average, and struck out 58 over 58.1 innings. But he's struggled with his command this season, and currently owns an 8.88 ERA while opponents are batting .302 against the reliever.
The Twins decided to move on from Alcala after he allowed nine runs over two innings in his last two relief appearances. He surrendered six runs (five earned) off five hits (including a homer) over 1.2 innings in a 16-4 loss to the Rangers on July 10, which was Alcala's final appearance for Minnesota.
For his career, Alcala owns a 4.32 ERA with 193 strikeouts over 187.2 innings. All 166 of his appearances have come out of the bullpen.
Alcala's go-to pitch is his fastball, which he throws 44 percent of the time and averages 97.1 mph on the radar gun. Opponents are hitting just .205 off that pitch this season, according to Baseball Savant. He's also had success with his curveball, holding opponents to a .143 average with the pitch, but he's only thrown the pitch at a 15.1 percent clip this season.
Alcala has run into issues with his slider though. He's thrown it 21.8 percent of the time this season, with opponents hitting .389 off the pitch. Opponents hit just .204 off his slider last season, so the Red Sox are hoping a change of scenery will get him back to his 2024 form and give Alex Cora another arm to help an already overworked bullpen.
Red Sox relievers have already tossed 266.1 innings this season, which is the fifth-most in the Majors. Righty Greg Weissert has already made 33 appearances, tied for the second-most in baseball, while Brennan Bernardino is tied for 16th with 31 turns out of the Red Sox bullpen. Garrett Whitlock's 33.2 innings are tied for the eighth-most in baseball.
Boston sent infielder/outfielder Andy Lugo to the Twins in return for Alcala. Lugo signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent in 2021, and played in 44 games for High-A Greenville this season. Right-handed pitcher Brian Van Belle was designated for assignment to make room for Alcala on Boston's 40-man roster.
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