The Red Sox selected the contract of right-hander Wyatt Olds on August 17, 2026, and optioned left-hander Raymond Burgos in the corresponding move, putting Olds in the final spot of the bullpen. The club had three open places on its 40-man roster before the transaction and moved from 37 to 38 players after adding him.
The timing makes sense after Boston used Burgos for four innings and 52 pitches in an 8-3 loss to the Pirates the day before, leaving him unavailable for several days. Patrick Sandoval started that game and lasted four innings, while Burgos kept the rest of the bullpen out of the loss as Boston fell behind 7-0 after three innings.
Olds, 27, reached the majors after being taken in the seventh round in 2021 and after moving from a starter’s path into relief. He had thrown 50 2/3 innings across 39 Triple-A appearances in 2026, with a 5.33 earned runs per nine average, a 32.6% strikeout rate and a 43% ground ball rate. His fastball averaged 96.8 miles per hour and he mixed in a cutter, slider and changeup.
That profile also carries a built-in question for Boston. Olds walked 28 of 227 batters faced, hit five batters and threw five wild pitches in 2026, and he will probably need better control to stick once the club asks him to work in the majors. The move looks like a short-term answer as much as a promotion, especially with a full slate of options giving the Red Sox a clean way to send him back to the farm when they need another fresh arm.
Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reported the moves before the official announcement, but the roster math is plain enough on its own: Boston needed innings cover, Olds had a power arm, and Burgos had just spent the previous day making sure the bullpen did not have to absorb the whole burden. Whether Olds gets more than a brief look now depends less on the call-up itself than on whether his control can keep him in the game once he arrives.
