The Alex Cora Running Club
The Red Sox have another new starting pitcher.
The team announced it has recalled right-handed starter Naoyuki Uwasawa from Triple-A Worcester. To make room for Uwasawa - who was already on the 40-man roster - the team designated lefty reliever Joely Rodriguez for assignment.
The Red Sox acquired Uwasawa in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on March 27. Since joining Worcester, the 30-year-old has made three starts while totaling a 4.80 ERA. His best outing to date was a five-inning start on April 21 in which he allowed just one run.
This season marks Usasawa's first in the United States, having spent his entire career playing in Japan, where he was an NPB All-Star three times (2018, 2021, 2023) while pitching for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
Uwasawa went 70-62 with a 3.19 ERA (397 ER/1,118.1 IP) and 14 complete games prior to this season, having recorded an ERA below 3.50 in eight of his nine seasons. In 2023, Uwasawa led NPB in innings pitched while posting a 2.96 ERA (56 ER/170.0 IP) with 124 strikeouts, 41 walks, and 14 home runs allowed in 24 games, marking the sixth time in his career he recorded an ERA below 3.20.
Rodriguez never found consistent success after making the Opening Day roster, giving up eight earned runs in 11 innings over 11 appearances. Red Sox manager Alex Cora noted Saturday that Rodriguez's fastball hadn't been sitting at the velocity needed to make his changeup most effective.