Red Sox Designate Eduardo Rivera For Assignment

The Red Sox announced that reliever Eduardo Rivera has been designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count is now at 40.

Rivera is a somewhat surprising final roster cut. He’s a 23-year-old left-hander with a 95 mph average fastball and promising slider. Rivera struck out 30% of opponents against an elevated 12.7% walk percentage across 55 2/3 innings in the minors this year. He pitched in four big league contests, working 10 innings of seven-run ball.

The 6’7″ southpaw finished the season on the injured list with a lumbar strain. Between the injury and the below-average control, the Red Sox are apparently content to move on. It’d be very surprising if Rivera weren’t acquired in a minor trade or claimed off waivers this week. He still has a pair of minor league options remaining and has the size and stuff to potentially pitch towards the back of a bullpen at some point. Boston has Aroldis Chapman, Erik Miller, Jovani Morán, Raymond Burgos, Alec Gamboa and Tyler Samaniego as lefty relief options on the offseason roster.