Unknown Red Sox Prospect Appears To Be Rising Star After Masterful Chaim Bloom Trade

Boston needs some young bullpen help to aid the pitching staff

Scott Neville | May 30, 2023

Unknown Red Sox Prospect Appears To Be Rising Star After Masterful Chaim Bloom Trade /

In this story:

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox starting pitching staff is starting to come together as players on the big league roster have come back from various injuries.

However, full strength or not, the Red Sox have struggled to find anyone to man the backend of the bullpen with any kind of consistency.

Boston has leaned on waiver wire pickups and veterans past their prime to fill those roles. The Red Sox haven't had a prospect to look toward that could potentially take one of those roster spots -- until now.

Right-hander Theo Denlinger was promoted to Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday after a fantastic start in his first year with the Red Sox organization.

Denlinger posted a 2.29 ERA with a 20-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio, an astounding .149 batting average against and 0.86 WHIP in 19 2/3 innings for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs this season.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom traded right-hander Franklin German to the Chicago White Sox for Denlinger over the winter. German has since been designated for assignment while Denlinger appears to be the most promising young reliever to potentially grab a spot on the big league roster this season.

The 26-year-old prospect has a fastball that can climb into the upper 90s and a slider that can be a plus pitch with some consistency.

Given the Red Sox's need to fill the back end of the bullpen, Denlinger will have a solid opportunity to prove himself with the WooSox and carve a path to Boston. Denlinger is a prospect worth paying attention to.

More MLB: MLB Insider Names Rumored Chaim Bloom Replacement If Red Sox's Season Goes Awry

Published May 30, 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