6:06 pm: Trade now announced, Busser heads to Chicago for right-hander Yuik Fajardo. To make room for Buser on the club’s 40-man roster, the White Sox designated Corey Jewkes for distribution. Fajardo, 18, has started 13 games in the Dominican Summer League this year and has an ERA of 3.91. The 28-year-old Jewkes hit .214/.275/.306 in 66 games with the White Sox this year.
4:01 pm: White Sox and Red Sox agree on deal to send southpaw cam booster Heading to Chicago, Fanside’s Robert Murray reports. It’s unclear whether Buser will return to Boston in exchange for Buser’s services, but James Fegan of the Sox Machine reports that the return is a minor leaguer, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive Cotillo further clarified that the expected return will be a minor league pitcher.
Buser, who turns 33 in May, made his major league debut with the Red Sox in April. After starting his career with the Twins in 2013, he climbed the ranks in the minor leagues but hit a roadblock during his 2017 season in High-A. He eventually resurfaced in independent ball in 2021 and bounced between Indy ball and the minor league Diamondbacks until joining the Red Sox for the 2023 season.
When he finally made his major league debut last year, he pitched quite well for the club, posting a 3.38 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate, and 8.7% walk rate in 42 2/3 innings. . That’s good for a solid 3.80 FIP, although an elevated 80% winch rate and a lower 8.3% home run-to-fly ball ratio suggest there could be some regression in Booser’s profile, like a 3.92 SIERA and 4.40 xFIP shown. However, despite some issues with Buser’s peripherals and an unusual path to the major leagues, he is a quality middle relief option in left field.
and Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson Buser has become expendable to the Red Sox as he joins the bullpen from left in Boston and Brennan Bernardino joins the bullpen as a more established left-handed option. This apparently prompted him to join the White Sox bullpen, where he was joined by the former Yankees reliever Ron Marinacio Exterior additions this winter. Busser sits much higher on Chicago’s left-handed backup depth chart than he did in Boston, as he traded competition from established veterans like Chapman and Wilson for less mature arms like this one Jared Schuster and Fraser Ellard.
