The Red Sox announced Tuesday that they’ve claimed right-hander Kyle Tyler off waivers from the Angels and, in a corresponding move, designated outfielder infielder Hudson Potts for assignment.
Tyler, 25, was the Halos’ 20th-round draft selection back in 2018 and made his big league debut in 2021 when he tossed 12 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. The Oklahoma product held opponents to four runs (2.92 ERA) on eight hits and six walks with six strikeouts. Tyler’s strikeout/walk rates in the big leagues obviously weren’t much to write home about, and he sat at just 91.1 mph with his fastball during that limited time.
That said, Tyler also enjoyed a solid season in the minors, logging a 3.66 ERA with a 25.3% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate in 86 frames between Double-A and Triple-A — mostly working as a starting pitcher. The right-hander has all three minor league option years remaining, so he gives the Sox some additional pitching depth at a time when big names like Chris Sale and James Paxton are on the injured list.
Potts, 23, is a former first-round pick and well-regarded prospect whose development simply hasn’t progressed as hoped. Selected by the Padres with the No. 24 overall pick in 2016 and traded to Boston in 2020’s Mitch Moreland swap, Potts spent the 2021 season with Boston’s Double-A affiliate. It was his second stint at the Double-A level, but Potts still managed only a .217/.264/.399 batting line with a sky-high 32.8% strikeout rate.
Potts has previously drawn praise for his substantial raw power, but he hasn’t made contact enough to take advantage of that pop since a solid 2018 showing in A-ball. The Red Sox will have a week to trade Potts or place him on outright waivers, at which point any of the other 29 clubs could place a claim.
Potts has been a DFA waiting to happen. When Trevor Story is added to the 40-man roster, Rosario will probably be DFAed next. So much for the prospects the Red Sox received from SD for Mitch Moreland.
the prospects were lottery tickets at best for a player in Moreland with less than a year of control who was essentially a back up 1B. I’m not sure what kind of a return you’d expect for Moreland other than that.
No expectations, just reporting, if that is ok with you…….
Do all the people posting here read things into posts or just you
I read it the same way. You simply never know what you’re getting with most rentals.
I doubt I’m the only one who read it that way and seems like others who commented felt the same way I did.. Also saying “so much for the prospects…” doesn’t really lend itself to another interpretation and further there isn’t any actual “reporting” on your part either.
boy you’re a baby. If you can’t handle people responding to your posts and making counterpoints without having a temper tantrum then don’t bother posting.
They mostly all do it’s so sad.
I try to respect most opinions but this thread was rediculous. Why become so defensive regardless!
If JC#1 means what I think it means you’re not representing too well there, brethren. May consider changing that username if you’re going to keep that up? But, it’s up to you.. I’m definitely no saint myself.
I think they were a little bit better than lottery tickets. Potts is a former first rounder who had some buzz for the very back of top 100 lists entering 2019. Rosario was a mainstay on a deep San Diego top 20, with some theoretical upside due to athleticism. Even now, this will only be his age 22 season.
Maybe slightly better but that’s splitting hairs.
Yeah, I think people use “lottery tickets” wildly differently. I always thought of it as someone who is under no consideration for a top 100 end of year list, at a minimum. Or using the old John Sickels grading scale, C+ and/or major injury risk or raw tool guys.
Hudson Potts is kind of like Josh Vitters all over again.
I guess that’s how I tend to see C+ guys at least that’s what I think Potts was at the time when the Sox got him. Very much a very high risk very high reward guy.
it was a damned good deal for both sides at the time. Moreland was hit at the time and both prospects seemed to have decent if not spectacular upside.
Moreland is a backup now, but he was pretty solid a few years ago.
Still picturing that homer against the Dodgers…
Better than half our prospects will wash out. No one is trading you a legitimate prospect for a bench player. You need to get a little bit lucky to land someone like Pivetta.
A “bench player” that was hitting 20+ homers and knocking in 70, while fielding well.
That’s not a bench player.
I mean he was only a part time player after he got traded. He was having one of his best seasons when he got traded, but for a pure rental getting 2 wild cards with upside was a pretty fair return. If neither works out, it doesn’t mean the trade was a bad one. Potts is exactly the type of guy you want to get in a trade like that. They might not work out, but if you make 5 trades like that and one guy actually reaches his ceiling then it’s a success.
Those numbers were in A & AA ball, so they don’t mean much. Potts is a bust and I agree it’s time to move on. The only reason SD included those 2 is that they needed to be added to their 40 man roster the following season and they realized they had better prospects to protect.
Exactly.
True but they were still better than what Bloom inherited when he took over.
@Dorothy_Mantooth That argument doesn’t work when they added Luis Campusano and Ryan Weathers (who weren’t R5 eligible) for 4 PA’s from Campy and 1.1 innings from Weathers. If they hadn’t called those guys up there’s your 2 spots for Rosario and Potts.
That’s all the stuff that I don’t understand about Preller. Of course, it’s no big deal, since the fringier players on the 40 don’t usually amount to much. But there is at least some downside, and virtually no upside.
I came back her to tell you great call! Literally their next move!
seems like a good get
No one else took a shot at this guy before us? FG has the guy as a 35+ FV, but his stats at A, A+, and AA look good. Two decent offerings make him seem like a decent BP prospect.
35+ seems about right for a relief-only prospect with a 91 mph fastball
He does have some starting experience/success in the minor leagues. It should be noted that he was pitching in the PCL this season for AAA, and had excellent peripheral numbers. Any guy who tops out at 96 (according to Fangraphs prospect report) and offers very good control is a good guy to have on your team whether he’s used as an up-and-down relief arm, or if he reaches his full potential. I’d put his best-case scenario as a Zach Davies type pitcher. Either way, he’s not a bad grab for the Sox.
this sucks. We need pitching depth and put Kyle Tyler on waivers.
Jimmy Herget would’ve been been the pitcher to waive. Or one of the million utility infielders.
Jack Mayfield has compromising photos of every AL West GM.
Agreed. Tyler (or even Packy) over Herget any day.
Losing intriguing arms due to too many utility infielders.
Herget and Tyler are a flip of the coin for me, but I have no issue designating a 25 year old, 20th round draft pick with a 91 MPH heater.
The Angels drafted 20 pitchers last year. They signed Thor, Loup, Bradley and Tepera this off-season. Low ceiling depth pieces are going to be designated. This is what all Angels fans have wanted…
There is some solid truth to that. We might finally have enough arms to lose a few.
Davis Daniel has more potential than either guy we’ve lost.
I was just checking out 40 man rosters of GMs that I respect – Friedman, Zaidhi, Neander, AA, etc – and noted that the number of Angels pitchers are in line with other teams.
Including Canning and Rodriguez, who are on the IL-60, the Angels have 24 pitchers on the 40 man roster. Where they are a little light compared to other teams is in the OF where they only have five guys.
In my opinion, there is still some low hanging fruit should the Angels pursue another arm or add someone to the 40 man roster due to a strong spring.
It’s such a shame that Potts wasn’t able to make the jump that some scouts were projecting he would. While he’s still only 23, he looks lost at the plate including in his Spring Training at bats so far this season. Hopefully Boston will be able to find a team willing to take a chance on him and craft a small deal for another lottery ticket, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he clears waivers.
I was shocked at the time when they got Potts & Rosario for Moreland. It seemed like an overpay but SD, but now it looks like SD knew what they were doing after all. Rosario’s development has stalled too so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the next prospect to fall off their 40 man roster.
I thought SD rushed him, even though it might’ve made no difference. He had a 140/23 K/W in A-ball, and still promoted him to A+. A 6/1 K/W should never be promoted. If he can’t get that down to 2/1 in A-ball, they’ll torch him in the higher levels.
How is Moreland doing in San Diego now?
I have a family friend who knows Hudson Potts quite well. By all accounts, he is a great guy and a hard worker. Really hope he can figure it out with another team.
Me too, HBan. I hope he finds success wherever he lands. Boston gave him a shot to improve but he couldn’t take advantage of it. Seems like he needs to find the right hitting coach who can not only fix the holes in his swing but completely change his approach at the plate. He has the talent to be successful; he just needs someone to help him put it all together. At least he was able to earn a first round signing bonus so if he ends up walking away from baseball, he probably ‘earned’ a little over $2M in professional baseball by age 23. Not a bad start to his professional career, whatever that ends up being in the long run.
It’s hard to imagine Potts going anywhere outside of the Sox minors because any claiming team has to put him on the 40-man, just like the Sox did when they acquired him. Is it possible the Sox would just release him after the week if no interest is shown? He’s at a level where Koss, Cannon, Sogard, Howlett, and David Hamilton are bunching up for the left side IF plus 2B. Yorke’s promotion later on pushes more of that group leftward. By the way, Potts’s signing amount was $1MM exactly.
He’s amazingly inconsistent