The Red Sox have traded left-hander Brennan Bernardino to the Rockies for a minor leaguer, reports Hunter Noll of Beyond the Monster. That minor league is Braiden Ward, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.
Bernardino, 34 in January, has pitched between 50 and 52 innings for Boston in each of the past three seasons. He has a 3.46 ERA, 23.6% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate over 153 1/3 innings during that time. An indie ball find by the Mariners back in 2022, Bernardino has carved out a role as a solid middle reliever, though his average sinker dipped from 91.4 mph in ’24 to 90.7 mph this past season. That modest velo dip was accompanied by more problematic downturns for his strikeout rate (24.8% in ’24, 19.6% in ’25) and walk rate (9.7% in ’24, 11.6% in ’25).
Colorado can control Bernardino for another four years. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1.1MM in arbitration this season. He’s a Super Two player, so he’d be due three more raises after that if the Rox keep through his entire six-year window of control.
The 26-year-old Ward was the Rockies’ 16th-round pick in 2021. He hit .290/.395/.391 in 368 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A last year. Ward fanned at just a 16.6% clip and walked 9.5% of the time he stepped into the batter’s box. He’s a center fielder with plus speed who’s also seen time at second base. Ward will be eligible to be selected in next month’s Rule 5 Draft, though the Red Sox are presumably confident he won’t be taken.