Red Sox Select Raymond Burgos, Option Greg Weissert

The Red Sox announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Raymond Burgos to the roster. Right-hander Greg Weissert has been optioned in a corresponding active roster move. The 40-man roster had a couple of vacancies, so no further moves are required. Rob Bradford of WEEI first reported the Burgos news, with Tim Healey of The Boston Globe first on Weissert.

The move is surely a response to last night’s drawn-out victory. The Red Sox pulled off a win against the White Sox but it took them 13 innings to finish the job. Ranger Suarez started the game but only lasted three innings, so the Sox used all eight relievers in their bullpen to cover the remaining ten frames.

Burgos, 27, started the season with the Guerreros de Oaxaca in the Mexican League. The Sox gave him a minor league deal in May and he has been pitching out of the Triple-A rotation since then. His 5.63 earned run average isn’t particularly inspiring but he is stretched out. He tossed five innings for Worcester on Sunday, so he should be able to give the club multiple innings tonight, if needed. Payton Tolle is starting the game and will ideally go deep, but if not, Burgos could be sent in there to spare some other arms.

If he does get in there, Burgos will add to a very minimal track record. His major league résumé currently consists of one single-inning appearance for the Giants in 2024. He has a full slate of options and can be easily sent back to Worcester in the near future if he logs a few innings or if the bullpen gets a nice rest or both.

To get Burgos onto the roster, Weissert gets optioned to the minors for the first time in almost two years. His last optional assignment was in late August of 2024. He spent all of last year in the majors and posted a 2.82 earned run average. His 20.5% strikeout rate was subpar but he limited walks to a 7.6% clip and got ground balls at a decent 41.3% pace.

This year, those underlying rate stats have improved but the ERA has gone up due to the long ball. He has a 23% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 43% ground ball rate but has already allowed seven long balls, one more than last year despite throwing 21 2/3 fewer innings. That has led to a 3.97 ERA.

Since his work has generally been solid, he probably would have stayed in the majors if it weren’t for this specific scenario. Weissert has one option remaining. He will burn his final option in 2026 if he spends 20 days on optional assignment before the season is done. In terms of service time, he came into the season at two years and 79 days. He has already crossed over the three-year line and will therefore be eligible for arbitration this winter and is still on pace for free agency after 2029.