With three new trade deadline acquisitions to add to the active roster, the Red Sox had some decisions to make ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against the Chicago White Sox.
One in particular was somewhat surprising.
The Red Sox announced prior to first pitch that they had optioned infielder Romy Gonzalez to Triple-A and designated rookie right-hander Ryan Watson for assignment.
They also officially activated newly acquired left-hander Erik Miller, catcher Jake Rogers and outfielder Eli White. Adley Rutschman, the big prize of Monday’s trade deadline, was on the injured list prior to his arrival and doesn’t have to be added yet.
Since joining the Red Sox ahead of the 2024 season Gonzalez has become a crucial contributor for the club, initially as a versatile bench piece and last year as the club’s starting first and second baseman at various points in the season. This year he missed the first half after undergoing shoulder surgery and has struggled to find his rhythm at the plate. Since being activated from the injured list on June 28 Gonzalez has batted .185 with one home run and a .572 OPS in 19 games.
But with White set to enter the picture and few other good options to move off the big league roster, Gonzalez became the odd man out.
“It’s difficult. He’s not pleased obviously but he’s (taken it) like a pro,” Tracy said. “It’s tough because he was a huge part of it and he still is, there’s still an avenue, he can still help, but it’s not easy to have that conversation especially knowing that he’s working on finding himself with the swing and stuff like that, we know what it looks like when it’s right.
“With where we’re at right now and how (Jahmai Jones) has swung the bat and how we’re going to deploy those guys it just felt like the difficulty of getting him at bats is where we’re at now,” Tracy continued. “And as difficult as that was, and it was very difficult, it was probably what we had to do.”
Watson came to the Red Sox last winter in a trade immediately following his selection in the Rule 5 Draft. As a Rule 5 pick Watson had to remain on the Red Sox active roster for the entire season, otherwise he had to be made available to other teams and offered back to his original club — in this case the San Francisco Giants — before he could be sent to the minors.
Watson served primarily as Boston’s mop-up man throughout his time with the Red Sox, posting a 4.53 ERA over 55 2/3 innings in 35 appearances. But with Miller needing a spot and Brayan Bello now in the majors filling essentially the same role as a bulk reliever, the club no longer had a place for Watson.