Diamondbacks claim Red Sox left-hander off waivers
The Diamondbacks are claiming left-hander Joe Jacques off waivers, per Beyond the Monster’s Andrew Parker.
Boston designated Jacques for assignment on Friday.
Jacques pitched in one game for the Red Sox this season. The lefty appeared in the series finale against the Guardians from Fenway Park. He tossed 1 2/3 innings, giving up three hits and one earned run while hitting a batter and striking out two.
The Red Sox sent Jacques back to Worcester following the game and subsequently designated him for assignment the next day after recalling Cam Booser to take his spot.
The southpaw made his big league debut last season on June 12th. His debut wasn’t normal; he didn’t record anything on his pitching stat line before the game was suspended due to rain.
“Debut was pretty wild.” Jacques told Beyond the Monster. “I was coming in with bases loaded in the rain with two outs. I was kind of glad I was thrown into the fire like that.”
The 29-year-old pitched in 28 1/3 innings in the majors with a 5.08 earned run average. His production in the minors has been fairly similar, though with a few more punchouts. He tossed 39 Triple-A innings last year with a 2.54 ERA, keeping the ball on the ground at a 60.4% rate. He struck out 21.6% of batters faced while walking 8%, according to FanGraphs.
The Shrewsbury, New Jersey, native throws from a sidearm arm slot and offers a three-pitch mix in his arsenal: an 89-92 mph fastball, a 75-78 mph slider, and an 83-83 mph changeup.
If he is not added to the Diamondbacks roster, Jacques still has two MiLB options remaining, allowing Arizona to option him to Triple-A.
Connor Wong off to a strong start at the plate
Through the first few weeks of the 2024 campaign, the Red Sox offense has shown it has plenty of talent to compete. During their rollercoaster start, one player who has been a hits machine is Connor Wong. While splitting time behind the plate with Reese McGuire, the former third-round pick has been a force at the plate.