The Red Sox released minor-league pitcher Grant Gambrell on Wednesday, per the club’s MiLB.com transactions log.
Gambrell, 27, was one of two players to be named later acquired from the Royals as part of the three-team, seven-player trade that sent Andrew Benintendi to Kansas City in February 2021. Along with fellow right-hander Luis De La Rosa, Gambrell did not switch organizations until four months after the original deal was made.
A former third-round draft selection of the Royals coming out of Oregon State in 2019, Gambrell missed the entirety of the 2022 season due to a benign tumor in his calcaneus (the heel bone) that required five surgeries to remove. The California native returned to the mound in 2023 and fared well across three levels, posting a 3.63 ERA (4.23 FIP) in 23 starts (126 1/3 innings) between High-A Greenville, Double-A Portland, and Triple-A Worcester.
Fresh off being recognized as SoxProspects.com’s 2023 Comeback Player of the Year, Gambrell broke camp with Worcester last spring. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound hurler forged a 4.09 ERA (4.38 FIP) with 65 strikeouts to 34 walks over 18 appearances (16 starts) spanning 83 2/3 innings before being placed on the injured list with right elbow inflammation in late July. That ultimately cost him the remainder of the 2024 campaign.
Gambrell appeared in three Grapefruit League games for the Red Sox as a minor-league call-up this spring and allowed three earned runs in 1 1/3 innings of relief. Presumably, the righty was competing for a spot in Worcester’s season-opening starting rotation in camp. He will now have to look for opportunities elsewhere if he is intent on continuing his career.
With Gambrell’s release, right-hander Josh Winckowski is now the only one of the five players the Red Sox acquired from the Royals and Mets in the Benintendi trade who is still in the organization. Before Wednesday’s move, Boston had already cut ties with De La Rosa in 2024, Freddy Valdez in 2023, and Franchy Cordero in 2022.
