Red Sox call up Yacksel Ríos, option Michael Chavis to Worcester

The Red Sox made a little bit of a surprising move early this week, calling up Michael Chavis to the active roster to take the spot of Ryan Weber. It wasn’t surprising that Weber was designated for assignment, but rather that they added a position player instead of a fresh arm for the bullpen. Well, as it turns out, it wasn’t for long. The team announced prior to Wednesday’s game in Atlanta that they were sending Chavis back down to Worcester, calling up Yacksel Ríos.

That Chavis was not up for long is not a major surprise, as the team has been working with a three-man bench and 14-man pitching staff all season save for a few exceptions, and there was no reason to believe they were ready to change course. My thought was that they had called up Chavis for the two games in Atlanta with National League rules, looking to bring up another pitcher for the series in Kansas City. It turns out they’re making the move a day early.

Ríos was just acquired from Seattle earlier in the week to fill the 40-man void left by Weber. A right-handed pitcher, the 27-year-old has tossed 72 ¹⁄₃ innings in his major-league career, pitching to a 6.47 ERA with a 21 percent strikeout rate and an 11 percent walk rate. Those innings come across parts of five seasons in the majors. As for Chavis, he was getting hot in Worcester last week, but did not get a chance to appear in the majors over this latest short stint with the team.