The Red Sox announced that Vladimir Gutierrez has been released. The right-hander had been pitching at Triple-A Worcester since he was acquired from the Brewers last month, though he was designated for assignment and then outrighted off Boston’s 40-man roster earlier this month.
Because Gutierrez has previously been outrighted in his career, he had the option to reject that assignment and opt into free agency. He chose to stick with the Sox at that point but now finds himself on the open market anyway, as the righty simply didn’t seem to be in the team’s plans.
Gutierrez didn’t help his case with a 9.00 ERA over eight innings in Worcester, as he allowed more walks (12) than strikeouts (eight) over his five appearances.
Gutierrez could now potentially join his fourth different organization in as many months. He inked a minor league deal with the Marlins during the offseason, and has since been designated for assignment three times — once apiece by Miami, Milwaukee and Boston.
Gutierrez has seen some big league action this season with a 6.75 ERA in four innings for the Marlins before he was DFA’ed and then claimed off waivers by the Brewers at the start of April.
Those four innings represented Gutierrez’s first time on a Major League mound since 2022, as Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the entirety of the 2023 season apart from 6 1/3 minor league innings in the Reds’ farm system.
Formerly a highly-regarded pitching prospect during his time in Cincinnati’s minor league ranks, Gutierrez debuted in the Show in 2021 and finished eighth in NL Rookie of the Year voting after posting a 4.74 ERA in 114 innings.
Home runs and control became greater issues for him in 2022, however, as Gutierrez struggled to a 7.61 ERA in 36 2/3 innings before the TJ procedure brought his tough year to an early end.