FORT MYERS, Fla. — As exhibition games get underway in both Arizona and Florida this weekend, the Red Sox remain interested in improving their bullpen depth from the left side, several sources confirmed Sunday.
At present, the Red Sox have just three lefty relievers — Aroldis Chapman, Jovani Moran and Tyler Samaniego — on their 40-man roster. Chapman, of course, is locked in as the team’s closer.
The team has said it does not intend to pitch any of their lefty depth starters like Payton Tolle or Connelly Early in relief.
Both Moran and Samaniego are battling for the role of lefty reliever.
Moran has some rather limited big league experience with the Minnesota Twins, having appeared in 79 games between 2021-2023 and two games with the Red Sox in the second half of last season. Samaniego, obtained in the deal that saw the Red Sox acquire Johan Oviedo from Pittsburgh, has yet to make his major league debut and, in fact, hasn’t pitched above Double A.
Over the winter, the team dealt away a handful of lefty relievers, including Brennan Bernardino and Chris Murphy while electing not to re-sign Justin Wilson and Steven Matz.
That’s left the Red Sox without a lot of lefty options to pair with mainstays Chapman, Garrett Whitlock, Justin Slaten and Greg Weissert.
The Sox intend to have scouts looking at some lefty relievers in rival camps, both in games and in back-field workouts.
There remains a handful of veteran lefty relievers still available on the free agent market, including Jalen Beeks, Danny Coulombe, Colin Poche and Joey Lucchesi. Wilson, meanwhile, is said to be leaning toward retirement.
Many of those free agents have been seeking major league deals, while teams, this late in spring, have been more focused on minor league deals with invitations to big league camp.
The fact that camps are underway and exhibition games are being played could exert some pressure on the free agents to accept NRI (non-roster invitation) deals.
The Red Sox are currently at full capacity with their 40-man roster, with the potential of having to add players when they set the Opening Day roster. Retaining some roster flexibility as the spring progresses remains a priority.
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