Red Sox Option 27-Year-Old After He Sacrifices Arm to Save Bullpen

The Red Sox optioned a 27-year-old reliever after he sacrificed his arm to save Boston’s bullpen with an extraordinary relief effort. Getty

The Boston Red Sox optioned left-hander Raymond Burgos to Triple-A Worcester on Monday, the corresponding roster move for the call-up of right-hander Wyatt Olds, according to MassLive reporter Chris Cotillo.

Burgos had been recalled from Worcester just one day earlier — Sunday, Aug. 16 — to provide bullpen depth after right-hander Justin Slaten landed on the injured list.

The quick turnaround reflects how heavily Boston leaned on Burgos in a compressed span. In three MLB appearances covering roughly 10 days, the 27-year-old left-hander logged 10.0 innings — a workload that made a rest assignment the only practical outcome.

BOSTON RED SOX STARTING LINEUPSP: Jhostynxon Gamboa (LHP, #68) • 0-0, 1.59 ERA, 12 KAugust 17, 2026 • Fenway Park, Boston, MA • 7:10 PM EDT • D-backs at Red Sox#PlayerPosBHRRBISBAVGOPS1Jahmai JonesDHR4133.203.6332Ceddanne RafaelaCFR166316.285.7863Wilyer AbreuRFL22658.257.8084Willson Contreras1BR24723.278.9125Adley RutschmanCS8470.239.7366Caleb Durbin3BR126014.252.7277Andruw MonasterioSSR6354.265.7648Eli WhiteLFR5185.235.6759Nick Sogard2BS050.240.663Lineups subject to change. Arizona lineup not yet announced.Raymond Burgos Workload Led to Boston Red Sox Decision

He opened that stretch Augusr 7 against the Athletics with three scoreless innings, surrendering no hits and fanning two while earning his first major league save in Boston’s 13-1 win. The very next night — August 8, also against Oakland — he went three more innings, giving up two solo home runs and two earned runs while striking out two again.

No Boston Red Sox pitcher had thrown at least three innings on back-to-back days since 1977, according to baseball journalist David Laurila.

Burgos returned to the mound August 16 at Pittsburgh for his third and final outing of the month. He worked two innings before a rain delay of roughly two-and-a-half hours interrupted play at PNC Park, then returned to throw two more, finishing with four innings, two hits, one earned run, one walk, and one strikeout.

The cumulative line across all three outings for the 27-year-old was 0-0, 2.70 ERA, one save, 10 innings pitched, four hits, three earned runs, two home runs, one walk, five strikeouts, and a 0.50 WHIP.

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Burgos Career and Background with Boston

Burgos comes with a modest but intriguing big league résumé. Over four career MLB appearances, one with the 2024 San Francisco Giants and three with Boston this season, he owns a 3.27 ERA across 11.0 innings with six strikeouts and a 0.82 WHIP.

The road to Fenway has been anything but direct. Born Nov. 29, 1998, in Río Grande, Puerto Rico, the 6-foot-5, 209-pound southpaw was drafted by Cleveland in the 18th round (542nd overall) of the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Pedro Falu Orellano High School. He underwent Tommy John surgery shortly after signing and missed the 2016-17 seasons entirely.

Burgos made his professional debut in 2018, worked his way through Cleveland’s system, and eventually reached free agency. A stint with the San Francisco Giants organization followed. He made his MLB debut on June 24, 2024, allowing one run in one inning against the Chicago Cubs, before he was designated for assignment, ending his time there. He spent time with the Guerreros de Oaxaca in the Mexican League before the Red Sox signed him to a minor league contract on May 7, 2026, and sent him to Worcester.

At Triple-A this season prior to his call-ups, Burgos made 15 appearances with 14 starts and a 5.63 ERA and 52 strikeouts across roughly 64 innings, according to MLB.com. Boston has deployed him exclusively out of the bullpen at the MLB level, where his ability to eat multiple innings has made him a go-to option during roster crunches, and the reason the club has called on him twice in less than two weeks.

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