Red Sox reinstate, option Zach Penrod

The Red Sox have reinstated left-hander Zach Penrod from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Worcester, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. The move doesn’t impact Boston’s active roster but their 40-man is now full. They had opened a spot on the weekend by designating lefty Sean Newcomb for assignment.

Penrod, 28 next month, got to make a brief major league debut last year. He tossed four innings over seven appearances for Boston, posting a 2.25 earned run average in that small sample. He struck out three opponents and walked four.

He’s been held back by a lack of health this year. He had some elbow soreness during the spring and went for an MRI. While that imaging only found inflammation, manager Alex Cora nonetheless relayed that Penrod was going to miss significant time. He was placed on the 60-day IL on Opening Day, with his injury listed as an elbow sprain.

He now seems to be healthy enough to take the mound, as he started a rehab assignment on the weekend. He’ll likely need a few more outings before he’s a realistic candidate to get called up, but he’ll soon provide the Sox with a lefty depth arm. In 2024, he logged 62 2/3 innings on the farm with a 4.16 ERA, 34.8% strikeout rate and 12.4% walk rate.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images