The old baseball saying goes, “you can never have enough pitching,” and the Boston Red Sox proved the cliché correct this year, ending the season with a dozen pitchers on the injured list, or with at least some health issue that made them unavailable.
As a result, when it came to the third and deciding game of the American League Wild Card series Boston was forced to send 23-year-old rookie Connolly Early, to the mound to make only his fifth Major League start with the Red Sox’ season on the line.
Early comported himself well, only to see the Red Sox defense fail him in the fourth inning. Nor did it help that Boston hitters were held scoreless. But Early’s performance notwithstanding, manager Alex Cora would have definitely preferred to go with veteran Lucas Giolito, or even a more experienced young starter such as Hunter Dobbins. But neither was available.
Red Sox Sign ‘Massive’ Lefty
With those issues likely in mind, the Red Sox made a signing on Tuesday, according to Boston Globe reporter Alex Speier, to build greater pitching depth in their minor league system.
The signing was actually a re-signing, as the Red Sox had first acquired left-hander Eduardo Rivera on June 12, 2024, about three weeks after he had been released by the then-Oakland Athletics, and just one day before the 2021 11th-round pick’s 21st birthday.
The Athletics drafted Rivera out of Colegio Cadest High School in Carolina, Puerto Rico.
According to Speier, “Rivera, 22, is a massive (6-foot-7), hard-throwing lefty who had a 2.48 ERA, 30 percent K rate and 13 percent BB rate in High-A/Double-A in 2025. For the Sox, he could be a mid-/late-year big league depth option in 2026 â but heâs Rule 5 eligible and could get taken.”
Fastball Hits 98 mph
Being Rule 5 eligible means that Rivera has five years of professional experience but has never been placed on a Major League 40-man roster. Under MLB rules, when the Rule 5 draft is held in December, any team can take Rivera by paying Boston just $100,000.
The catch is, Rule 5 draftees must be placed on a 26-man big league roster for an entire season, or sent back to their original team. Because Rivera has never even appeared on a Triple-A roster, he may be an unlikely Rule 5 candidate, as most teams would prefer to add players with higher-level experience to their Major League squads.
At 6-foot-7 and 237 pounds, Rivera strikes an imposing figure on the mound, and according to SoxProspects.com, backs up his intimidating appearance with fastball velocity that reaches 98 mph.
Fastball Evaluated as ‘Potential Plus Offering’
Nonetheless, the Sox Prospects site identified some issues that Rivera will need to correct before he becomes ready for the big leagues.
“Command and control need work. Below-average command profile. Pitches to the arm side frequently and has to work on being able to locate the pitch glove-side,” the site wrote in its profile of Rivera.
But the site’s talent evaluations had plenty of positive insights into Rivera as well.
“Pitch jumps on hitters, especially left-handed hitters,” according to SoxProspects.com. “Able to hold velocity and often will see it increase as the game goes on. Able to reach back and pitch at the top of the velocity band in key situations. Potential plus offering.”
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