12:32pm: The Rays announced that they’ve acquired Guerrero from Boston in exchange for infielder Tristan Gray. Boston designated Nate Lowe for assignment to open a 40-man spot for Gray.
12:24pm: The Red Sox have traded right-hander Luis Guerrero to the Rays, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Boston recently designated Guerrero for assignment and passed him through waivers unclaimed. As such, there’s not likely to be much of a return, unless Guerrero is an ancillary piece in a larger deal. Tampa Bay could have just claimed Guerrero off waivers but seemingly didn’t want to commit a 40-man roster spot to the hard-throwing but command-challenged righty.
The 25-year-old Guerrero has posted a strong 2.63 ERA in 27 1/3 innings for the Red Sox over the past two seasons and averages a potent 96.9 mph on his heater. However, he ended the season on the injured list due to an elbow issue and has regularly displayed alarming command (or lack thereof) both in the majors and upper minors.
Guerrero has walked nearly 15% of his major league opponents against a tepid 17.6% strikeout rate. He carries a 3.89 ERA in three Triple-A seasons but has walked or plunked a colossal 17.4% of his Triple-A opponents. That includes a walk rate just under 19% in 2025.
At times, Guerrero has posted gaudy strikeout and swinging-strike rates. The velocity is impressive, and he has a pair of minor league options remaining. That makes him an intriguing roll of the dice for Tampa Bay, but his health and troubling lack of command make him more of a project than a sure thing — small-sample major league ERA notwithstanding.
Guerrero would hardly be the first live-armed prospect to land in Tampa Bay and flourish, of course, and there ought to be ample opportunity in Kevin Cash’s bullpen. The Rays declined their $11MM club option on longtime closer Pete Fairbanks, making him a free agent. Holdovers include Edwin Uceta, Griffin Jax, Garrett Cleavinger, Bryan Baker and Mason Montgomery, but there’s plenty of innings for Guerrero (and others) to claim if he can impress in spring training or in the early portion of the Triple-A season.