Red Sox Reportedly Call Up Pitcher Who Has Been Lights Out In Triple-A

Cam Booser has spent eight years in minor league baseball without ever getting the chance to throw a pitch in the big leagues.

That’s about to change for the 31-year-old left-hander.

The Red Sox are calling up the left-handed reliever from Triple-A Worcester for the start of Friday’s road series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to MLB.com’s Ian Browne and MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. Booser reportedly will take the place of Joe Jacques, who will be optioned to Worcester, on the active roster.

Booser is off to a stellar start with Worcester, registering plenty of swings and misses. The lefty is 2-0 out of the bullpen with a 2.70 ERA and 0.60 WHIP, along with an eye-popping 15 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. He’s also holding opponents to a .130 batting average.

That production from Booser is vastly different than what he showed with Worcester last season when he owned a 4.99 ERA with one save and four holds in 48 appearances.

Booser even caught the eye of Red Sox manager Alex Cora in spring training.

“He’s been great, man,” Cora told reporters in mid-March. “He throws 97, 98. Sometimes he hits 99. And he’s been able to land the off-speed pitches for strikes. He’s been really good. He had a great second half last year. Talking to (Worcester Red Sox manager) Chad Tracy, something clicked there that got him in the strike zone. And he’s been doing the same thing here in spring training.”

It certainly hasn’t been a straight path to the majors for Booser. He spent five seasons in the Minnesota Twins organization before retiring in November 2017 after dealing with several significant injuries.

With baseball in the rear-view, Booser got a job as a carpenter in Seattle but worked his way back onto a diamond and played Independent League baseball in 2021. That opened the door to a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks the following year before signing a minor league deal with the Red Sox in February 2023.

And with the Red Sox using five relievers in their series finale against the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday, there’s a good chance Booser will find himself on a big-league mound for the first time in his career this weekend.