Red Sox acquire minor league reliever from the Royals
The Red Sox made a minor move on Monday acquiring right-handed reliever Andrés Núñez from the Royals, per the team’s transactions page.
The organization will assign Núñez to Triple-A Worcester.
This season, Núñez has struggled while with the Omaha Storm Chasers. He owns a 3-2 record with a 6.66 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, 20 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings (20 games).
The former Royals farmhand last pitches on June 23 against the Rochester RedWings, tossing one inning, walking two and striking out one.
Despite his rough 2023 season, the Florida native has had success in the minors. Núñez was the Royals 2022 minor league pitcher of the year. He made 54 appearances out of the Storm Chasers bullpen where he posted a 5-4 record with a 3.61 ERA while striking out 25.7% batters he faced and he posted his second best career walk percentage at 6.3%, per FanGraphs.
Over the course of his minor league career, Núñez has been more of a ground ball pitcher, 50% of batters have hit the ball on the ground this season. Last season, he kept 58.7% of opposing batters on the ground, mainly induced by the use of his sinker/sweeper combo.
Núñez offers a three-pitch mix, a low-90’s sinker, mid-80’s sweeping slider, mid-80’s changeup. He does occasionally mix in a cutter, but he uses that pitch sparingly.
The Royals selected Núñez with the 872nd pick in the 29th round out of Florida International. He will now add depth to the WooSox bullpen with the potential of offering the major league club options due to his overall body of work in the minors.
Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisHenrique
For additional Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, MLB and NFL content follow Beyond the Monster on Twitter @BeyondtheMnstr.
