The Boston Red Sox have made many significant changes over the last three weeks. One of them includes Walker Buehler heading into the bullpen, signing Nathaniel Lowe after him getting designated for assignment by the Washington Nationals, and most notably, finally DFA'ing Abraham Toro.
But with the September call-ups coming down the line like most of Trevor Story's hits as of late, they need to make more decisions. What's going to stick? What move will not affect the team chemistry? How can they approach this? Who will they move? Who will they call up?
Red Sox Have Questions to Answer Before September Call-Ups
Moving Buehler to the bullpen was a much-needed move. Given that nobody wants to take on that $21 million (even if it is for one year only), it was seemingly the only thing that they could've done. Managing to secure Lowe and DFA'ing Toro in the process is also a smart move, given that Lowe has been red-hot in a Red Sox uniform so far.
So far, they've called up both Kyle Harrison and Jhostynxon "The Password" Garcia from Triple-A Worcester, and the latter has played four games, with two walks, but no hits just yet. Harrison was supposed to start for the Red Sox on Monday, but at the 11th hour, they made Brennan Bernardino start instead.
They put Richard Fitts in, but he was taken out of the game with an injured bicep in the sixth inning. He was clutching his arm after he threw, so Red Sox fans will find out soon if he's going to have to be on the injured list.
“Felt a couple things in my warmup pitches — just kind of pulling on the bicep a little bit. … We’re gonna evaluate tomorrow, but I’m feeling pretty good about it.”
— NESN (@NESN) August 26, 2025
Richard Fitts shares an update on his injury tonight. pic.twitter.com/GV4tmhBcEa
If he does, the Red Sox will need to bring up another arm. The good thing is that Justin Slaten will be coming back within a few days, as the Red Sox approved of his return after just pitching in three rehab outings in Worcester. With that as an antidote, the Red Sox could easily count him as the September addition and call it a day. But that all depends on whether Fitts reaches the IL or not, and if he does, Cooper Criswell could very well be called up and play in Boston for the rest of the season.
Next is the Wilyer Abreu dilemma. He was put on the IL after having calf issues, and they called up Garcia as a corresponding move. He could very well be counted in as the last man who will fill that roster spot when Abreu returns, which is probably why they put him on the 10-day IL in the first place.
Plus, it will give Abreu extra rest if the injury isn't that serious, so he'll be more than ready when September comes.
The Red Sox really don't need to make many moves because Harrison and Garcia are the ones who could stay on the team. But there are still questions to consider with them. What will their playing times be? How and where will Alex Cora make them play? This all depends on how the duo performs, but it's safe to say that these two pieces are here to stay.
At least, for now.