Red Sox Sign Ex-Angels Hurler To Bolster Pitching Depth For 2023 Season

Boston added another arm

Scott Neville | Apr 28, 2023

Red Sox Sign Ex-Angels Hurler To Bolster Pitching Depth For 2023 Season /

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The Boston Red Sox added to their organizational depth prior to Friday's game.

The move is much needed given the slew of injuries the pitching staff has sustained combined with replacement-level performances by Kaleb Ort and Ryan Brasier.

The Red Sox claimed Justin Garza off of waivers from the Los Angeles Angels, the club announced.

Garza posted a 4.32 ERA with a hold, two saves (in as many chances) a 5-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio and .207 batting average against in 8 1/3 innings for Triple-A Salt Lake.

Last season Garza recorded a 4.64 ERA with a 50-to-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio and .220 batting average against in 42 2/3 innings.

Will he be the savior for the back of the bullpen? That's a long shot but it won't be hard to better Ort or Brasier.

The 29-year-old's only time spent in the big leagues came in 2021 when he posted similar numbers as the aforementioned Triple-A stats.

Before the fanbase overreacts to Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom adding another middling reliever, it should be noted that Garza should be seen as nothing more than organizational depth.

With Chris Martin expected to return in the coming days, we might not see Garza anytime soon. If we do, it'll be for one of the two players fans have been begging to get rid of.

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Published Apr 28, 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