The Red Sox announced they’ve selected reliever Eduard Bazardo onto the major league roster. The club also recalled catcher Connor Wong from Triple-A Worcester. That duo will take the two extra September active roster spots, while the club already had a 40-man roster vacancy for Bazardo.
Bazardo returns to the majors on his 27th birthday. The right-hander has just two big league games under his belt, both coming last season. He worked three scoreless innings while averaging 94.6 MPH on his fastball, but he struggled over a longer stretch in Triple-A last year. Boston designated him for assignment on Opening Day as part of their initial roster set-up, and he went unclaimed on waivers.
Outrighted to Triple-A, Bazardo has spent the 2022 campaign in Worcester. He’s tossed 57 1/3 innings over 37 outings, primarily functioning in a multi-inning relief capacity. The Venezuela native has a 3.45 ERA with a solid 23.5% strikeout rate and a lower than average 7.5% walk percentage during that run. It was a strong enough showing he’ll get another shot on the major league roster, offering a long relief option for manager Alex Cora down the stretch.