The Red Sox have designated left-hander Joe Jacques for assignment, with Chris Cotillo of MassLive among those to relay the news. His roster spot will go to Cam Booser, whose promotion was reported yesterday.
Jacques, 29, was first added to Boston’s roster last year. To this point, he has thrown 28 1/3 innings in the majors with a 5.08 earned run average. His 16.8% strikeout rate is subpar but his 7.6% walk rate is solid and his 64.8% ground ball rate is very strong.
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%.
The Sox seemingly prefer to get a look at the fireballing, late-blooming Booser, as opposed to the soft-tossing Jacques. The latter throws his sinker, which averages just over 90 miles per hour, roughly two thirds of the time. Booser, meanwhile, can get his fastball up into the high 90s.
Boston will now have a week to trade Jacques or pass him through waivers. There’s often demand for lefty relief and Jacques still has options, meaning he wouldn’t need an active roster spot if any team were to acquire him.