Jake

Bennett

The 25-year-old southpaw gave up four runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings in a losing effort against the Rays on Thursday. With Ranger Suarez not expected to require a trip to the injured list and Sonny Gray back in the fold, there was simply no longer room for Bennett to remain in the rotation at the moment. The Red Sox will make a corresponding move on Friday.

The big left-hander didn’t allow a single extra-base hit on the day. The second run he allowed came on a bunt single, and the third run he allowed came on a sacrifice fly. He then threw a scoreless third, fourth, and fifth innings before an infield single and a walk ended his night in the sixth, and he watched as one of those runners came around to score. Despite not allowing much hard contact, he also didn’t miss many bats with just a six percent swinging strike rate and one strikeout on the day. Provided Ranger Suarez (hamstring) doesn’t need a trip to the IL, we’d bet that Bennett will head back to Triple-A.

Gray returns to Boston’s rotation to take the ball for Wednesday’s series finale in Detroit following a two-week absence recovering from a hamstring strain. The 36-year-old veteran has compiled a pedestrian 4.30 ERA and 13/5 K/BB ratio over 23 innings this season, but he’s a worthwhile option in all fantasy formats, especially in a favorable road matchup. The big question is whether the Red Sox are going to ship top pitching prospect Payton Tolle, or fellow rookie Jake Bennett, back to the minors with Gray back in the rotation.

Gray completed a bullpen session earlier this week without any issues and has made it to Detroit already. The 36-year-old veteran hit the shelf back in late April with a hamstring strain. His return likely pushes Jake Bennett back to the minors, unless they want to make a more dramatic move like shipping out a struggling Brayan Bello.

Bennett was solid in his big league debut, firing five innings of one-run ball while striking out three. The rookie made it through the first two innings unscathed, but gave up a leadoff homer to Carlos Correa to start the third inning, giving the Astros a 1-0 lead. It would be the only run Bennett would surrender in the inning, as the leap from Triple-A to the majors didn’t appear too overwhelming. If he sticks around for a while, he would be in line to face the Tigers on Wednesday in Detroit.

He’ll start today’s game against the Astros for Boston. We wouldn’t send him into 12-team league lineups for his major league debut, but he has an 0.86 ERA in five starts for the Worcester so far this year, with only 12 hits allowed in 21 innings. He’s certainly a plausible play in deeper leagues.

A memorable one-day stint on the roster. Eaton did not get into yesterday’s game against the Blue Jays and will head back to Worcester while the Red Sox try to figure out their rotation plans over the weekend. Chris Cotillo says Jake Bennett will likely grab the ball on Friday.

With Garrett Crochet (shoulder) headed to the injured list, it seems like Jake Bennett will be called up to take his spot and start on Friday against the Astros. Bennett was scratched from his start in Triple-A on Tuesday, and now we know why. The 6'6" left-hander has a 0.86 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, and 16/3 K/BB ratio in 21 innings at Triple-A this season. He could be an option in deeper formats, but should be treated as a one-off streamer with Sonny Gray (hamstring) figuring to come back and take his spot on in the rotation in the coming weeks.

According to multiple reports, the Red Sox are keeping their options open for later this week and want to have Bennett available in case he’s needed. The 25-year-old came over from the Nationals in the Luis Perales challenge trade back in the offseason and figures to arrive in Fenway Park at some point this summer.

Bennett, who the Red Sox acquired from the Nationals for Luis Perales this offseason, made two spring training appearances, allowing three runs on five hits in three innings while striking out three. The 6'6" left-handed pitcher also flashed upper 90s velocity on his fastball while topping out at 98 mph, which is a significant increase from what he had shown with the Nationals. He also debuted a cutter that pounded the strike zone against righties. He could be a fast-rising prospect for the Red Sox this season. Boston also reassigned catchers Nate Baez and Ronald Rosario, RHPs Osvaldo Berrios, Hobie Harris, Vinny Nittoli, and Devin Sweet, and LHP Jeremy Wu-Yelland to minor league camp.