WooSox will activate Japanese righty Naoyuki Uwasawa and will start on Wednesday night
The WooSox will activate newly acquired right-handed pitcher Naoyuki Uwasawa on Wednesday, and he will start against the Syracuse Mets at NBT Bank Stadium.
The Red Sox acquired Uwasawa at the end of March from the Rays for cash considerations. Following the trade, Boston optioned him to extended spring training, where he spent about a week in Florida before joining the WooSox last week during their first home stand of the season.
Usasawa’s transition to the Red Sox organization started with an extended spring training stint, where he began to develop a sweeper. If he continues to utilize that pitch, it will be the fifth in his arsenal of weapons; he already throws a fastball, a curveball, a slider, and a changeup.
Initially, the WooSox were not sure when Uwasawa would see game action. Skipper Chad Tracy mentioned the plan was to get him with the pitching coordinators and their pitching coach, Dan DeLucia, before making a final decision on his path to the mound.
“He threw just recently in Fort Myers,” said Tracy last week to Beyond the Monster. “For the big part right now, get here, meet Dan (DeLucia), get out, and get used to pitchers stretch and routine.”
Uwasawa will offer the Red Sox additional starting pitching depth, with Lucas Giolito out for the season and Nick Pivetta on the injured list, dealing with a mild right flexor strain in his pitching elbow.
While pitching in Japan, Uwasawa threw 1118 1/3 innings, with his career high coming last season for the Nippon-Ham Fighters, where he tossed 170 innings. During his time in Japan, he owned a career 70-62 record with a 3.19 ERA, 913 strikeouts, and 14 career games with six shutouts.
This past spring with the Rays, Uwasawa struggled, giving up 14 earned runs, three homers in 9 2/3 innings.
Boston is hoping Uwasawa can be part of their internal depth options in the event the Red Sox rotation takes another injury hit.
With the Red Sox needing to continue to develop pitching depth that could transition to the majors in the event of injury or promotion, Uwasawa should continue to see regular time as a starter for the WooSox unless he sees similar results like he did in spring training.
