Right-hander Kyle Barraclough has cleared waivers, and the Red Sox have sent the veteran pitcher outright to Triple-A Worcester. Barraclough has enough service time to reject the outright assignment, although it’s unclear if he plans to do so; the Triple-A season is already finished, and he’ll have the option to elect free agency in the offseason either way.
After parts of ten seasons spent with the Cardinals, Marlins, Nationals, Giants, Padres, Yankees, Twins, and Angels organizations, the righty began his 2023 campaign with the High Point Rockers of the independent Atlantic League. However, he pitched well enough in seven games with the Rockers to earn a minor league deal from the Red Sox in June.
Across 14 games (13 starts) with Worcester, Barraclough pitched to a 3.65 ERA, although his 14.8% walk rate was cause for concern. He earned a couple of brief call-ups to the MLB squad in August, pitching in a total of three games. Things went perfectly fine in his first two appearances, but he struggled tremendously in his third and final big league outing of the season, giving up 10 runs in 4 1/3 innings of work.
Unfortunately, Barraclough carried his struggles with him to the minors after that, giving up 15 runs in four September starts. He was designated for assignment on Sunday when the Red Sox reinstated Zack Kelly from the 60-day IL. The 33-year-old will presumably look for another minor league contract this winter.