Red Sox Hurler To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery, Marking Failed Trade

The young hurler will have to wait to make his Red Sox debut

Scott Neville | Jul 6, 2023

Red Sox Hurler To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery, Marking Failed Trade /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox had a tumultuous offseason when rumors flew of a potential blockbuster trade in the works, led by comments made by chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom.

Instead, the two biggest trades were with the Kansas City Royals, and neither of the two players received have appeared in a game for the Red Sox due to injuries.

While the acquisition of middle infielder Adalberto Mondesí for left-hander Josh Taylor stole the headlines, the Red Sox also traded pitching prospect Jacob Wallace for right-handed reliever Wyatt Mills in a separate deal.

After spending the first half of the season on the injured list with right-shoulder inflammation, it was announced that Mills would have a much longer road ahead.

"Red Sox announce Wyatt Mills underwent Tommy John surgery," The Globe's Alex Speier tweeted Wednesday. "The Sox had acquired him from the Royals in a trade this winter, sending minor league right-hander Jacob Wallace to Kansas City."

Mills has not been a standout in his first two seasons in the big leagues, posting a 6.21 ERA with a 37-to-20 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .280 batting average against and 1.55 WHIP in 42 career innings.

However, those numbers are inflated by his first cup of coffee in the majors, which did not go well. Last season he posted a 4.60 ERA with a 26-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .243 batting average against and 1.33 WHIP in 29 1/3 innings between the Seattle Mariners and Royals.

Mills has been far from spectacular but will be under team control through 2029 and could develop into a mid-game reliever due to his funky delivery and offspeed offerings.

In the interim, it's business as usual for Boston, as Mills has not been in the picture all season. The surgery is a tough blow for Mills but should not make much of any difference for the team itself, whose bullpen carousel has been ongoing all season long.

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Published Jul 6, 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