The Boston Red Sox dropped the series finale to the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 in 10 innings Wednesday, but took two of three in the series, marking their first series win after losing three straight.
The Red Sox now welcome former Boston All-Star Rafael Devers and the San Francisco Giants into Fenway Park for a three-game weekend set starting Friday. But before that emotional series, the Red Sox made a roster move that was bad news for one of their youngest prospects.
Boston released 18-year-old pitcher Angel Lopez ahead of their series against the Giants, according to the teen right-hander’s MiLB.com transaction page. The move ends Lopez’s time with the Boston organization unusually early in his professional career, raising the question of what led the Red Sox to move on from him so soon.
Angel Lopez’s Brief Red Sox Career
Lopez was released Wednesday, one of 11 players cut loose from Boston’s two Dominican Summer League rosters as the DSL season wrapped up, according to MiLB.com. Born May 13, 2008, in Mao, Dominican Republic, Lopez signed with Boston as an international free agent on Jan. 15, 2025, for a bonus of just $10,000, according to SoxProspects.com.
The right-hander made his professional debut in the DSL that June. Across parts of two seasons, Lopez posted a 2-1 record with an 8.65 ERA over 24 games, striking out 38 batters in 34 1/3 innings, but a 2.01 WHIP overshadowed his impressive strikeout totals. His 2025 season showed swing-and-miss ability, 19 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings, but 2026 brought diminished results before Boston moved on.
The DSL Red Sox Blue and DSL Red Sox Red rosters slashed 11 players in one day on Aug. 19, including outfielder Krishan Ulacio, right-handers Jainer Almanza, Sebastian Rondon, Hicter Ruiz and Isael Fis, catcher Andruw Zambrano, shortstop Eliezer Alfonzo, outfielders Stiven De La Cruz and Adrian Valdez, and left-hander Dani Richar, according to the organizational transaction ledger. No official explanation accompanied the cuts. End-of-season DSL purges are standard business, organizations clearing rosters of players who haven’t shown enough for another year of development.
Devers’ Success Shows Other Side of International Pipeline
Contrast Lopez’s $10,000 bonus with the path of Rafael Devers, whom Boston signed as a 16-year-old out of Sanchez, Dominican Republic, in 2013 for a bonus reported at $1.5 million, according to Over the Monster.
Devers debuted in the majors in 2017, made three All-Star teams and signed a contract extension for a massive $313.5 million commitment. Boston shipped him to the San Francisco Giants in June 2025 amid a positional dispute, receiving pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks, prospect James Tibbs III and right-hander Jose Bello in return.
Devers hasn’t played at Fenway since that trade. He returns this weekend as the Giants visit for a three-game series, and he’s already made his feelings toward Boston’s fan base clear.
Mao has produced other big leaguers beyond Lopez. Longtime shortstop Felix Fermin, who played a decade for four clubs including the Pirates and Indians, was also born in the Valverde Province city, according to MLB.com. Fermin now manages a Dominican Summer League roster of his own.
Boston enters the series at 68-59 and third in the American League East, chasing a wild-card berth after a rough finale against Arizona Wednesday, a 7-6, 10-inning loss. The Red Sox took the first two games of that set before the collapse and will try to reset against a struggling Giants club, minus Masataka Yoshida, sidelined by a hamstring strain.
Red Sox Release 18-Year-Old Pitcher Before Giants Series