The Boston Red Sox announced a key pitching decision Saturday ahead of their latest showdown with the New York Yankees, making a pair of roster moves that will affect the club’s pitching depth during a critical series against their arch-rivals.
The move comes with Boston trying to gain ground in the division race while navigating injuries and workload concerns across its pitching staff.
| BOSTON RED SOX STARTING LINEUP | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Pos | AVG / SLG |
| 1 | Jarren Duran | LF | .216 / .401 |
| 2 | Ceddanne Rafaela | CF | .282 / .431 |
| 3 | Wilyer Abreu | RF | .283 / .430 |
| 4 | Willson Contreras | 1B | .299 / .540 |
| 5 | Masataka Yoshida | DH | .252 / .345 |
| 6 | Mickey Gasper | C | .306 / .387 |
| 7 | Caleb Durbin | 3B | .196 / .296 |
| 8 | Anthony Seigler | 2B | .000 / .000 |
| 9 | Marcelo Mayer | SS | .221 / .294 |
| SP: Ranger Suarez (LHP) | 2-3 · 3.38 ERA | ||
Alec Gamboa Returns to Red Sox Bullpen
Alec Gamboa made his major league debut on May 5, per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic and Ian Browne of MLB.com — nearly seven years after the Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him in the ninth round out of Fresno City College. That first call-up replaced Danny Coulombe, who landed on the IL with cervical spasms. Boston returned Gamboa to Worcester after that stint. He comes back now filling another left-handed vacancy created by injury.
After six seasons in the Dodgers system without a big-league appearance, Gamboa asked for his release in May 2025 and signed with the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization. He went 7–8 with a 3.58 ERA and 117 strikeouts across 108 innings with Lotte, holding opposing hitters to a .236 average across 19 starts, according to Brendan Campbell of Blogging the Red Sox. Boston signed him last December on a split deal worth $925,000 if he reaches the majors, as first reported by Will Sammon of The Athletic.
The arsenal that brought him stateside includes a mid-90s four-seam fastball, a lower-90s sinker, an upper-80s slider, a mid-80s changeup, and an upper-70s curveball. At Worcester this season, Gamboa has posted a 25.4% strikeout rate and a 57.9% ground-ball rate, according to MLB Trade Rumors. A .405 BABIP has inflated his surface ERA, a number that projects to drop as luck normalizes toward league average.
| NEW YORK YANKEES STARTING LINEUP | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Pos | AVG / SLG |
| 1 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | .268 / .512 |
| 2 | Ben Rice | DH | .305 / .652 |
| 3 | Cody Bellinger | LF | .269 / .462 |
| 4 | Amed Rosario | 3B | .261 / .511 |
| 5 | Trent Grisham | CF | .212 / .389 |
| 6 | Anthony Volpe | SS | .222 / .333 |
| 7 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | 2B | .234 / .385 |
| 8 | José Caballero | RF | .257 / .392 |
| 9 | Ali Sánchez | C | — / — |
| SP: Will Warren (RHP) | 7-1 · 3.22 ERA | ||
Morán IL Stint Deepens Red Sox Bullpen Concerns
Morán had been a reliable presence in an otherwise unsettled bullpen. The 29-year-old Puerto Rico native carried a 2.33 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 17 strikeouts across 19.1 innings entering Saturday. His IL designation adds to a growing list of pitching casualties — Justin Slaten and Garrett Whitlock have both served IL stints this season, Brayan Bello was optioned to Worcester this week after a 6.34 ERA in 61 innings, and Patrick Sandoval has not thrown a major league pitch since June 2024 following ulnar collateral ligament surgery, according to MLB Trade Rumors.
Morán arrived in Boston via a December 2024 trade that sent catcher Mickey Gasper to Minnesota. He missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery. His best big-league season remains 2022 with the Minnesota Twins, with a 2.21 ERA with 54 strikeouts across 40.2 innings, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.
Tonight, Ranger Suarez takes the mound for Boston at Yankee Stadium against Will Warren. The Yankees are without Aaron Judge, sidelined by a rib injury. Gamboa is available out of the bullpen for the second time this season. His window in the majors, however brief, once again open.
Red Sox Announce Key Pitching Decision Before Yankees Clash