Red Sox Claim Hard-Throwing Veteran Off Waivers To Bolster Bullpen Depth

Boston adds another middling arm to the bullpen

Scott Neville | Aug 25, 2023

Red Sox Claim Hard-Throwing Veteran Off Waivers To Bolster Bullpen Depth /

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The Boston Red Sox have added another depth option to their bullpen to replace one of the worst signings of the winter on the 40-man roster.

"The Red Sox today claimed right-handed pitcher Zack Weiss off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels and optioned him to Triple-A Worcester," the club announced. "To make room on the 40-man roster, the club transferred right-handed pitcher Corey Kluber to the 60-Day Injured List."

Weiss is 2-1 with a 6.03 ERA, 50-to-24 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .290 batting average against and 1.77 WHIP in 37 1/3 innings for Triple-A Salt Lake this season.

The 31-year-old has a 5.79 ERA in 18 2/3 career innings at the big-league level. He features a 94 mph fastball as well as a cutter and slider.

Weiss supplants Kluber on the roster -- which technically would be an improvement for the organization, though neither are expected to reach Boston at any point this season.

Kluber was 3-6 with a 7.04 ERA, 42-to-24 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .297 batting average against and 1.64 WHIP in 55 innings across nine starts and six relief appearances for Boston. It was clear he had nothing left in the tank.

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Published Aug 25, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu