Red Sox's Latest Roster Decision Sends No. 13 Boston Prospect Back To Minors

Red Sox pitching prospect Hunter Dobbins plays catch with David Sandlin Tuesday at Fenway Park. / WooSox Photo/Ashley Green / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The rubber is beginning to meet the road for the Boston Red Sox as spring training enters its final stages.

Early in spring training, teams try to get as many young players as they can exposure to big-league competition. But with final roster decisions approaching and the season barely two weeks away, those who never had a clear path to making the team out of camp have to be cast aside.

Such was the case for a promising Red Sox minor-league pitcher who hasn't quite proved himself ready yet to make his big-league debut.

On Tuesday, the Red Sox announced that right-handed pitcher Hunter Dobbins had been optioned to minor league camp. The 25-year-old had appeared in two games in major league spring training, allowing two earned runs across four innings.

With Dobbins optioned, the Red Sox still have 55 players remaining in major league spring training camp, including 18 non-roster invitees. They'll have to trim that number down to 26 active players by Opening Day, though several of the 55 will begin the season on the injured list.

Dobbins currently ranks as the Red Sox's number-13 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. He was named Boston's Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year in 2024 after posting a 3.08 ERA across 25 starts last season, 21 of which came with Double-A Portland.

Because Dobbins was added to the 40-man roster at the start of the offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, the Red Sox will now have to use one of his three minor-league options to send him to Triple-A to begin the season.

Though Dobbins could factor into the mix at some point this season, there were others ahead of him in the race to join the starting rotation as Brayan Bello's injury replacement. Quinn Priester and Richard Fitts, who both joined the big-league club in September, are the two primary rotation candidates.

Hopefully, Dobbins got enough of a taste of big-league competition during his time at camp to spur a motivated, productive start to the season at Triple-A. Even if he remains blocked in 2025, Dobbins can become a valuable part of the Red Sox's future rotation, or an intriguing deadline trade candidate.