Red Sox Newcomer Has Tools To Become Fixture In Bullpen
The Red Sox acquired right-handed reliever Trey Wingenter on Saturday, and waisted relatively little time adding him to roster.
Wingenter, who was dumped by the Detroit Tigers in a minor-league swap, was called up ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against the Oakland Athletics. It wasn’t just a depth move, however.
Boston clearly likes the prospect of working with the 30-year-old.
Wingenter is an imposing figure on the mound, standing at 6-foot-7 and weighing 237 pounds. He’s certainly less frightening of a figure when you find out he has a career 5.28 ERA across 50 appearances, but the 3.82 FIP and 0.7 WAR do make up for it slightly.
What’s so special about him, though?
- He strikes out the world.
- He has pretty good stuff.
- The Red Sox make magic with those two things.
Triple-A Toledo lost one of their best strikeout men with the trade, as he fanned 48 batters in just 32 2/3 innings this season for the Mud Hens. In 87 innings with the Tigers and San Diego Padres, Wingenter has a really promising 12.52 strikeouts per nine innings. He also averages 96 miles per hour on his four-seam fastball and 85 miles an hour on his slider, according to FanGraphs, which are both pretty fast.
Is Andrew Bailey going to allow him to throw the four-seamer? We aren’t prepared to answer that one.
We are prepared to say this could be a pretty decent find for the Red Sox, though. Wingenter’s arrival is in part due to an assignment clause in his contract that requires him to be on the 40-man roster. Boston obviously felt he was worthy of one, and with shuffling happening routinely in the bullpen, there’s an opportunity for him to take hold of a low-leverage spot while the “Run Prevention Unit” works their magic.