Luis

Perales

The right-hander was removed from his outing on June 9 with right elbow inflammation, and after undergoing tests, it’s determined that the 21-year-old needs to undergo the season-ending surgery. Perales is one of the top pitching prospects in the Boston system, and he had reached Double-A with a 2.94 ERA and 56/12 K/BB ratio. Perales likely won’t see the mound again until late in the 2025 season at the earliest.

You never want to see it. Perales has posted a strong 2.94 ERA with an even stronger 56/12 K/BB ratio over his 33 2/3 innings, and he’s considered one of — if not the — best pitching prospects in the Boston system. A trip to the minor-league injured list is likely, but there’s no timetable for when Perales will be ready to return at this point.

Depending on the scouting service, Perales is either ranked as the best or second-best pitching prospect in Boston’s system and one of their top 10 overall prospects. The 21-year-old had a 3.42 ERA across 26 1/3 innings (seven starts) with 46 strikeouts and just 10 walks. He will now try to keep up that strikeout rate at a higher level, but the 6'1" starter was one of the high-upside prospects who many thought would benefit from the Red Sox overhauling their pitching development system.

The pair of roster moves trim Boston’s spring roster to just 54 players, which includes 17 non-roster invitees. Gonzalez was added to the Red Sox’ 40-man roster back in November after excelling last year between High-a Greenville and Double-A Portland.

The hard-throwing 20-year-old right-hander took a bit of a step back during the 2023 season, posting an underwhelming 3.91 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and a 115/50 K/BB ratio across 89 2/3 innings between Single-A Salem and High-A Greenville. Still, he’s got perhaps the best raw stuff of any starting pitcher in the Red Sox’ system and his ceiling remains very high. Expect him to begin the 2024 campaign back at High-A Greenville — where he made his final eight starts to finish the 2023 season.