After a month full of backtracking and rationalizing the ‘full throttle’ comments that have haunted them all offseason long, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and the Boston Red Sox got back to business with what they seem to do best these days with an addition via Major League Baseball’s waiver wire.
The latest player claimed by the Red Sox: Ex-Chicago utilityman Romy Gonzalez, with the team confirming the roster move in an announcement Wednesday afternoon.
Jun 8, 2023; Bronx, New York, USA; Chicago White Sox second baseman Romy Gonzalez (12) makes a throw in the infield at Yankee Stadium. (Wendell Cruz/USA TODAY Sports)
A 27-year-old capable of playing both infield and outfield, Gonzalez has spent his entire career with the White Sox organization, and has made 86 appearances with Chicago over the last three seasons.
Gonzalez made a career-high 44 appearances for Chicago in 2023, and set new career-highs in home run (three) and RBI (14), and was a perfect 7-for-7 when it came to his steal attempts. Overall, the Florida-born Gonzalez has hit .222 with five home runs and 27 RBIs over that three-season run with the Southsiders.
And though Gonzalez has played all over the field during his MLB run, the majority of his time has come at second base, with 417 of his 565 innings in the field played at second.
May 21, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox right fielder Romy Gonzalez (12) runs after hitting a two-run triple against the Kansas City Royals during the fifth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports)
An 18th-round pick of the White Sox back in 2018, Gonzalez is also coming off an injury-shortened 2023 campaign, as the 6-foot-1 Gonzalez underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder last summer. The good news is that Gonzalez was throwing in October, and is expected to be completely ready to go when the Sox open up their Spring Training camp in Florida in the not-too-distant future.
Gonzalez ultimately found himself on the outs when the White Sox made their signing of pitcher John Brebbia official, and it’s worth noting that the right-swinging Gonzalez does still have some minor-league options to his name, meaning that it’s not Boston or bust this upcoming season.
The expectation is that Gonzalez will compete for an MLB spot with the likes of Pablo Reyes and Bobby Dalbec.
Sep 14, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Zack Weiss (56) pitches against the New York Yankees during the fourth inning at Fenway Park. (Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports)
And with Gonzalez claimed by the Red Sox, Boston needed to make a separate move on their 40-man roster, and did so with right-handed reliever Zack Weiss designated for assignment.
Weiss, who was a waiver claim by the Red Sox from the Angels last August, made six appearances out of the Boston bullpen last year, and posted a 2.08 ERA and eight strikeouts over 8.2 innings of work.
The 31-year-old Weiss is a veteran of 25 games between Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and Boston since 2018.
