The Boston Red Sox are making the final cuts to their roster ahead of Opening Day and not everyone is going to be thrilled with the decision. One of the areas has been in the Red Sox bullpen where several high-leverage arms have been jockeying for position.
Aroldis Chapman was one of the biggest winners, landing the team’s closer role in Spring Training. But there are other spots up for grabs with Liam Hendriks in the setup role with Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock and Justin Wilson also projecting as key contributors.
While that’s great news for that group, there’s another group that will be left out. That includes a recently demoted reliever that was on the outside looking in and has decided to look for a new team ahead of the 2025 season.
Red Sox Grant Adam Ottavino His Release After Demotion
According to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo, the Red Sox have granted reliever Adam Ottavino his release after he triggered an opt-out clause in his contract. The 39-year-old was looking to land a role in the Sox bullpen this spring but his numbers didn’t add up, allowing six earned runs, five walks and eight strikeouts in five innings during Grapefruit League play.
The poor performance put the writing on the wall for the veteran right-hander. Ottavino spent the last three seasons with the New York Mets, posting a 3.14 ERA over 192 appearances and agreed to a minor league contract with Boston last winter. He also continued to be effective, logging a 28.6% strikeout rate and allowing an average exit velocity of 87.1 mph according to Baseball Savant.
But walks were Ottavino’s main issue, posting a 9.4% rate on free passes last season. He was unable to resolve the issue during Spring training and will now be looking for a new job after being told he wouldn’t make the bullpen on Friday.
Cotillo adds that fellow veteran Matt Moore, who was also demoted on Friday, will not opt out and start the season with Triple-A Worcester. Boston enters the year with starters Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford on the injured list and Walker Buehler was scratched from Sunday’s start without a reason. Those injuries could put a strain on the bullpen in the opening month of the season and could test the Red Sox’ depth with the recent departures.