The Red Sox brought in some pitching help on the eve of Opening Day in small trade with the Rays. Boston added right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa via a trade with Tampa Bay on Wednesday, according to multiple reports. The Rays are getting cash considerations in exchange for the veteran pitcher, the Tampa Bay Times reported . The deal has not been officially announced by either ball club, and it isn’t immediately clear if Uwasawa would join Boston’s major league roster or go to the minors. The 30-year-old Japanese pitcher had signed a minor league deal with the Rays in January, and he wasn’t going to make the big league team, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported. Uwasawa had spent the previous nine years playing pro ball in the Nippon Professional
baseball (NPB) and had gone 9-9 with a 2.96 ERA in 170 innings for the Nippon-Ham Fighters last season. He had gotten 9 1/3 innings of work this spring, where he allowed 13 earned runs on 15 hits. The move comes as the Red Sox looked to bolster their pitching depth before the 2024 campaign gets underway on Thursday against the Mariners in Seattle. Boston recently inked Chase Anderson to a big league deal that gives them some added help in the rotation but could end up coming out of the bullpen as well. The Sox start the year with a starting rotation that includes Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock and Kutter Crawford. They had signed Lucas Giolito to a two-year deal, but he is expected to miss the entire 2024 season after having surgery on his right elbow. The Red Sox are coming off a 2023 season where they finished last in the
American League East with a 78-84 record and 23 games back of the first-place Orioles.