Seth Martinez’s stay on Boston’s 40-man roster ended quickly, but his path with the Red Sox isn’t necessarily finished.
Martinez worked the eighth inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays with Boston down 4-3, a move by interim manager Chad Tracy that was designed to preserve the higher-leverage arms in the bullpen. It didn’t work out, and it also foreshadowed what came next for the right-hander.
The Red Sox designated Martinez for assignment on Wednesday, opening him up to the rest of the league on waivers. He cleared, though, and the team outrighted him to Triple-A Worcester on Friday, according to the official transactions log.
That doesn’t automatically close the book. Martinez has been outrighted before, including last September by the Miami Marlins, and in that situation he could choose free agency and look for another opportunity elsewhere.
What Boston got from him in Worcester this season wasn’t especially eye-catching: a 5.55 ERA and 49 strikeouts across 60 innings. Still, Martinez has enough major league mileage to make him a possible depth option for someone, even if the numbers don’t jump off the page.
Across 118 career big league games, Martinez has a 4.03 ERA. His strongest work came with the Houston Astros, where he posted 0.8 bWAR in 2022 and 0.5 bWAR in 2024 while handling a part-time bullpen role.
Boston filled Martinez’s spot by calling up Alec Gamboa for Wednesday’s game. The club is in the middle of a heavy run of games, and the timing got even trickier when Garrett Whitlock, the team’s top setup man, went on the injured list with a tired elbow.
A real impact from Martinez the rest of the way would qualify as a surprise, but as of Friday night, the possibility remains if he decides to accept the outright assignment.
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