Red Sox Kick-Start Offseason With Low-Risk, High-Reward Signing

The Boston Red Sox took a “why not?” approach to their first outside signing of the Major League Baseball offseason.

You know, because why not?

Helcris Olivarez was signed to a minor league deal Wednesday, according to Minor League Baseball’s transaction wire. The Red Sox assigned him to Triple-A Worcester, releasing catcher Oscar Rangel as the corresponding move.

An MiLB signing in November might not seem all that exciting, but Olivarez has the tools to be a real contributor sooner rather than later. The 23-year-old has reached 101 mph and was once viewed as the best pitching prospect in the Colorado Rockies’ system.

“It’s a live arm. It’s a live fastball,” Rockies manager Bud Black said in 2021, according to MLB.com. “The ingredients are there. He really has to put in the development over time in the next year or two to clean some things up, but it looks right. … It’s a big league arm. The velocity is there. It looks like he’s going to be able to spin the breaking ball. He’s got good feel for a changeup. He’s physical. That’s only going to increase.”

Olivarez’s momentum halted this past season, however, as a scapula strain turned into an eventual shoulder capsule surgery late in 2022 that caused him to miss the entire 2023 season.

The expectation is that Olivarez is ready to make a return to the mound, where he quickly could become a factor in a Red Sox system that is short on left-handers. Boston invited the starter to spring training, according to Ari Alexander of KPRC Houston, so Red Sox fans could get a closer glimpse at him sooner rather than later.