A few days ago, it seemed like the Red Sox were left Jake Bennett he will be called up to his big league debut this weekend. Boston made it official on Friday, officially recalling Bennett from Triple-A Worcester to fill a roster spot created during the interim. Nate Eaton was selected following yesterday’s game. Bennett will start tonight against the visiting Astros.
Acquired from the Nationals in an offseason trade to send the righty Luis Perales back another way, Bennett is a 6’6″, 234-pound lefty who entered the season ranked by Baseball America and MLB.com as the Red Sox’ No. 1 prospect. 6. He turned in an impressive 0.86 ERA in 21 innings (five starts) for Worcester to start his tenure in the organization. The left-hander has struck out a below-average 20.3% of his opponents but also has an impressive 3.8% walk rate and a whopping 58.9% ground ball rate so far in 2026.
Bennett sits at 93 mph with his hitter and doesn’t miss all that many at-bats, but he has six strikeouts and is rated a plus (60 yards) on a 20-80 scale. His sense of place and that deep pitch range help him keep hitters off balance. His changeup is drawing strong grades from the scouting reports of BA, MLB.com and FanGraphs. In addition to the four-seamer and changeup, Bennett uses a cutter, sinker, curveball and slider — though he hasn’t used the slider much so far with the Red Sox organization.
Entering the season, Bennett was 10th or 11th on the Red Sox’s rotation depth chart, but Boston was plagued by a large number of injuries. Ace Garrett Crochet he just came off the 15-day injured list with shoulder inflammation, though he and the team expressed hope that he’ll be able to return a little later. The Sox also lost Sonny Gray (hamstring strain) and Johan Oviedo (flexor strain) in a new injury this season, while Patrick Sandoval, Cutter Crawford again Tanner Houck all still recovering from injuries ahead of the 2026 campaign. Sandoval had Tommy John surgery in 2024 and should be back. Houck had Tommy John surgery last August. Crawford is recovering from wrist surgery. Triple-A is fine Tyler Uberstinewho made his MLB debut earlier this season, is on the league’s disabled list with shoulder discomfort.
With so many pitchers in the mix, the Red Sox will plug Bennett into the combining rotation right now Guard Suarez, Brian Bello, Connelly Early again Payton Tolle. Suarez, Early and Tolle have all enjoyed productive starts to their 2026 seasons. Bello has been one of the worst starters in the game, allowing 26 runs in 25 2/3 innings (six starts), but the Red Sox don’t have the luxury of taking him out of the rotation right now because of this injury.
Bennett was added to the 40-man roster for the first time last November, so he is in the first year of three minor league options. He cannot reach a full year of major league service at this point, so the Sox will control him for at least six full seasons following the 2026 campaign.
