The Boston Red Sox are summoning right-hander Wyatt Olds from Triple-A Worcester, adding fresh bullpen depth after a stretch of heavy relief usage, according to media reports.
Left-hander Raymond Burgos has thrown eight innings across three outings in barely a week, and his workload appears to be the reason behind the timing of Olds’ promotion, a report from “Section 10 Podcast” host Tyler Milliken indicated Monday.
“Wyatt Olds is another deserving arm that has looked really good this year in Worcester,” wrote Andrew Parker of SoxProspects.com, after the call-up was reported.
Wyatt Olds’ Path to Boston
GettyWyatt Olds #97 of the Boston Red Sox.
Christopher Wyatt Olds was born August 5, 1999, in Oklahoma City and grew up in nearby McLoud, Oklahoma, the son of a high school baseball coach. He stands 6-foot-0 and 183 pounds, throws right-handed and pitched collegiately at Oklahoma, where he earned Big 12 All-Freshman honors in 2019 before shifting from spot starter to bullpen arm.
Boston selected Olds in the seventh round of the 2021 draft, 196th overall, and signed him for a $236,500 bonus, according to SoxProspects‘ scouting profile of the right-hander. He has since climbed the system’s ladder from the Florida Complex League through Double-A Portland to Worcester, working almost exclusively as a reliever since 2023.
This season at Triple-A, Olds carries a 5-6 record with a 5.33 ERA over 39 relief outings, five saves, 50.2 innings and 74 strikeouts against 28 walks, a 1.32 WHIP, per his Baseball Savant player page. His career minor league totals stand at 21-32 with a 5.88 ERA across 185 games, including 42 starts, with 489 strikeouts in 389 innings.
Scouts have flagged a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and can touch higher in short bursts, along with a hard slider that shows sharp tilt and late bite. Olds throws exclusively from the stretch with a low three-quarters slot that adds deception, though he has struggled to consistently repeat his delivery, which has left his command below average and capped him as an organizational relief option rather than a fixed late-innings piece. He spent this past winter pitching for Criollos de Caguas in Puerto Rico before reporting to spring training as a non-roster invitee.
Raymond Burgos’ Workload Behind the Move
Burgos, recalled Sunday when the Red Sox placed Justin Slaten on the injured list with right elbow inflammation, threw two innings of relief before rain halted Boston’s game at Pittsburgh, then returned after a two-hour, 34-minute delay to work two more, finishing with four innings and one earned run allowed. Interim manager Chad Tracy called the effort “huge” afterward, adding it capped “a long wait” for the lefty due to the rain delay, as quoted by MLB.com.
That outing came a little over a week after Burgos threw three innings on each of back-to-back days against the Athletics at Fenway Park, saving the first appearance and allowing two runs on solo homers in the second. No Red Sox pitcher had worked at least three innings on consecutive days since 1977, according to reporter David Laurila.
Burgos, already optioned and recalled twice this month, stands as the most logical candidate to head back to Worcester for a breather, and according to MassLive Red Sox beat reporter Chris Cotillo, that is exactly what happened.
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