The Red Sox announced they’ve designated right-handers Bryan Mata and Isaiah Campbell for assignment. The moves create the necessary 40-man roster spots for the previously reported additions of Hunter Dobbins and Jhostynxon Garcia to the roster.
Mata, 25, was once among the most highly-touted pitchers in the Boston system. The Venezuela native posted excellent numbers in the low minors and earned a 40-man roster spot after the 2020 season. He unfortunately hasn’t made it to the big leagues four years later, largely because of injury. Mata underwent Tommy John surgery early in the ’21 campaign. He hasn’t topped 83 innings in a minor league season since then.
A hamstring strain limited him to 22 2/3 innings between four minor league levels this year. Mata turned in a 4.37 ERA as he tried to work to the majors. He has allowed 4.87 earned runs per nine through 87 career Triple-A frames. The Sox will likely non-tender him on Friday and try to bring him back on a minor league deal, but he could look for other opportunities if he hits free agency.
Campbell, 27, also lost most of the season to injury. Acquired from the Mariners last offseason for infielder Luis Urías, he only pitched 6 2/3 innings in a Sox uniform. Campbell was blitzed for 13 runs in that small sample, a far cry from the 2.83 ERA he posted in 27 appearances for the Mariners as a rookie. The Arkansas product missed time with both a shoulder impingement and elbow inflammation amidst a difficult year.
Always thought Mata would develop into a higher echelon pitcher Campbell has always been meh.
Swan – They couldn’t have mishandled Campbell any worse. Demoted Bernardino and kept putting Campbell into high leverage situations where he lost 3 consecutive games in April.
Fever- that’s because cora is clueless when it comes to pitching
ghost – He sure is!
Cora replacing Criswell with Hill after 4 perfect innings was one of many recent managerial lowlights.
Correct link for Dobbins:
baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=dob…
Thanks.
Someone will take a flier on Mata..if hes healthy
Such a shame to see Mata’s career with Boston come to an end this way. For a short period, he seemed like a can’t miss prospect and was rated above Bello. Injuries and control problems led to his demise. I hope he does well wherever he lands.
Another example of why you should never be afraid to trade low level minor league prospects for established veterans. 2 years ago Mata and Bleis were untouchable guys, now they are throw ins at best
Thats fair on Mata but you cant be serious on Bleis hes only 20 years old and would be much further along if not for lost time due to injury..still a ton of time for him , if you watched him play last year you know the talent is real
Bleis hes only 20 years old
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I was about to post the same thing. Bleis was injured and came back. His A stats were good. His A+ stats definitely weaker, but young for that level. I still expect him to be a regular.
Joe – I don’t see the stats for Bleis the same way you do.
At 18 he had 40 games at ROK and hit .301. That performance got him ranked in baseball circles.as a young international signee. Since then? Not much!!
At 19 in A ball in 2023 he hit .230. NOT GOOD whether injured or not.
At 20 he goes back to A ball and hits .257 in 43 games which is marginally better but hardly impressive for a guy who became highly rated by 40 games at ROK ball. Then, after 43 games of mediocre play he gets a promotion to Hi-A in 2024 and he hits .191!!! Injuries could be the cause but there is no documentation in his history that his numbers are surpressed by injury. If he didn’t have the 40 game ROK season the conclusion would be he sucks and is NOT a keeper long term. He must prove he has talent like Mayer and it took Mayer to his 4th season before he had a good one and then he got hurt for the third time? I’ve lost track on the count of his injuries. Bleis is every bit as much of a pretender as Mayer as of today. Maybe he can do like Mayer did last year and actually have a good season and maybe he can not get hurt like Mayer but in the end, he hasn’t suggested any of the lofty accolades are justified. He’s Jeter Downs not Campbell, Teel or Anthony. Personally, I hope he rebounds and gets healthy and justifies some of the massive praise he unfairly gets in the media but I’m not holding my breath. At this piont, DFA is more likely than an all-star appearance in the MLB a few years from now.
Have you ever seen Bleis play?..sometimes seeing someone work tells a different story than a stat line.. And yes hes been oft injured which explains for example losing nearly the entire 2023 season..and again ..hes 20
Pool – For me showcase events aren’t the same as actual performance. He’s played in 202 games so far and his performance has been .243/.314/.397/710. Aren’t those the numbers that really matter? It’s not a beauty contest, its a sport evaluation based on performance. I’m not denying that maybe some day he can play as good as he looks to you but so far that’s not the case after 202 games. That’s not a small sample size for him to be that bad. He will be 21 in 2025 and he hasn’t seen a AA pitcher yet. He’s not all that young either considering his progression has been so slow due to lack of performance and injuries. Is he expendable compared to Teel, Campbell and Anthony? Absolutely.
None of this removes him from someday being the player you want him to be. All I’m saying is that he’s not there now and there are several players higher on the peaking order than Bleis. If he earns top billing in the future he will become untouchable but for now, he’s not even a certainty to make the majors. So bold statements about him are unfounded to me. Let him prove it.
Thats fair…but my main point was hes only 20 today and far better than a throw in per the original comment and i stand by that..time will tell
Pool – I’ll be right with you the second he actually puts up an excellent season. He’s capable but sometimes things just don’t work out especially for international signees who often have far less history than HS players who play elite travel baseball.
Saga and Pool watched a lot of Miguel Bleis this season he was mostly healthy this season and I have to tell you he didn’t really impress this season. There’s no question he has tools but the one tool he may be lacking is the hit tool. He’s still very young and there is time for him to break out but I have to say in a season where so many prospects broke out and have made this unarguably one of the best farms in baseball Bleis was a disappointment. Hopefully he can turn it around next season but next season is very important for him. He’s not the biggest disappointment though that goes to Nazzan Zanatello. He looked completely lost at the plate by the end of the season he was swinging and missing true middle middle fastballs. He’s still very young but it’s hard to overstate how bad he looked this season. He needs to show he can make contact next season at a minimum.
Here’s another example of a fan who think he’s knows what he’s talking about and missing why teams value those guys so much.
Fan understanding of how baseball is played and how teams are constructed has never been further apart.
Bleis is not a throw in at age 20. What a foolish comment.
Bleis is a 5 tool stud, he got hurt. Mata never put it together. Big difference Bleis is going nowhere and will be in the big leagues
Bleis IS not a throw in because nobody should want him. He actually has to perform rather than just be talked about some arm chair evaluators to have value.
Baseballguru – Point to the numbers that justify your comment because I’ve been on Baseball Reference and they don’t show up there!! He’s an international prospect that came in highly over rated. Had a decent ROK season and has done NOTHING since. The hype you are trying to create for this guy has NO documentation in the record books!!
Usually players have to perform before being voted to the HOF but apparently Bleis is the exception.
I think there may have been some other worthy candidates such as Gasper and Valdez. What about Michael Fullmer – unprotected. Investment probably wasted as someone will take a flier.
I think they might feel that their best chance of getting these guys through waivers is at the rule 5 roster freeze deadline, than in February or March.
Gasper and Valdez have more value than Mata and Campbell. That said, they will be DFA when Soto and a free agent pitcher are signed….
I doubt Soto comes to Fenway. Boras will just use them to drive up the price
If the Yankees, Blue Jays, Dodgers, or who ever else get involved has to pay more, because the Red Sox spent a few hours with Soto, then it was still time well spent.
Sox – Gasper must remain on the Red Sox active roster next season. He is already halfway to the all-time MLB record for most career PA’s without a hit (Randy Tate 47).
His parents have already bought game tickets and booked flights and hotels for the first 12 games of the season to be there for the momentous occasion!
Moves aren’t surprising. Not adding Michael Fulmer suggests to me he’s not ready for 25 and may not be for a club to have to carry him. I still expect someone to grab him. Maybe the White Sox or some other team willing to take a chance, hoping he can be flipped at the deadline.
Wonder what rehabbing formerly decent pitcher the Sox will sign this year.
Bieber might be a realistic option.
Edit: agree on Fulmer though, seems a good candidate for a rebuilding team to try to flip.
Not that anyone has turned into Justin Verlander, but the Red Sox have had quite a few pitchers taken in the Rule 5 draft in recent years. Most are returned with some of them coming back damaged – Noah Song! Makes for a little fun to watch outcome in the offseason!
Noah Song…was he in baseball in 2024? Curious as to what became of him.
Song missed 2024 due to TJ surgery. He should pitch in 2025.
team – He was assigned to Portland in March and then immediately underwent TJS.
Noah Song’s development was damaged by DD’s vindictiveness. He had to know that there was about a -0- chance of Song staying on the 40-man roster the entire year.
He had to stay on the 26 man not just the 40.
Well, i had it all figured out last year, but forgot most of it. But there was no chance he was going to go with 12 pitchers plus an unusable Song. So he decided to keep him on the IL for a few months.
He was a good Mariner. Wish him well wherever he goes
Welcome to the revolving door of the Red Sox clown relievers
Pfff no great loss here.
Ryan Pressley is the only Red Sox Rule 5 loss that is noteable over the last 20 years, although Ryan Fernandez could be ok IF HE CAN STAY HEALTHY.
Here is the last few years:
Major League Phase 2023
4. CWS selected Shane Drohan from BOS (returned)
6. STL selected Ryan Fernandez from BOS
7. NYM selected Justin Slaten from TEX, traded him to BOS for Ryan Ammons
Minor League Phase
3. CWS selected Jose Ramirez from BOS
5. STL selected Johnfrank Salazar from BOS
11. Selected Mickey Gasper from NYY
18. TOR selected Alexis Hernandez from BOS
20. STL selected Johnfrank Salazar from BOS
22. HOU selected Railin Perez from BOS
30. LAA selected Ryan Miller from BOS
45. KC selected Ryan Fitzgerald from BOS
58. CIN selected Brock Bell from BOS
2022 Rule 5 Draft
Major League Phase
1. WAS selected Thaddeus Ward from BOS
13. BAL selected AJ Politi from BOS (returned)
16. PHI selected Noah Song from BOS (returned)
Minor League Phase
12. Selected Joe Jacques from PIT
36. Selected Ryan Miller from NYY
61. PHI selected Cameron Cannon from BOS
2021 Rule 5 Draft
Major League Phase
Cancelled due to MLB Lockout
Minor League Phase
19. Selected Austin Lambright from KC
37. Selected Brian Keller from NYY
(From Sox Prospect)
Does Campbell have bad medicals. Seems little early to give up on a 2nd rounder.