August 18, 2026 at 3:07 PM
Minor Notes: Primera on fire, Olds gets call
Wyatt Olds called up
The Red Sox selected the contract of right-hander Wyatt Olds from Worcester on Monday, and the 27-year-old made his major league debut that evening. Olds has had an up-and-down season with Worcester and throughout his professional career. Drafted in the seventh round of the 2021 draft out of Oklahoma, Olds worked as a starter initially before a full conversion to a bullpen role in 2024. Olds had been particularly effective during a 15 appearances stretch from May 22 through July 8 in which he allowed just 1 earned run in 16 1/3 innings, striking out 24 while walking only seven, but had struggled some in the last month. Olds has always posted big strikeout totals, with 489 in 389 minor league innings. His control has wobbled at times, with 256 walks and a whopping 78 hit batsmen in his professional career. Olds pairs a fastball that touches 98 with a slider, while occasionally mixing in a show-me change-up. Right-handers hit just .170/.308/.283 off of Olds during his time with Worcester.
Olds was able to slide into an open slot in the 40-man roster. He would have been Rule 5 eligible in the offseason. His major league debut on Monday came exactly five years to the date from his professional debut.
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Rivas completes Rutschman trade
The deadline blockbuster that brought Adley Rutschman to Boston from the Orioles was completed on Wednesday when the Red Sox sent shortstop Harold Rivas as the Player to be Named Later. Rivas was originally signed out of Venezuela in January 2025 to a $950,000 bonus. Coming off of a strong .258/.393/.384 debut in the DSL, Rivas was named a SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star. He hit .241/.343/.429 with six homers in 46 games Fort Myers in his stateside debut. Rivas was ranked 10th in the system at the time of the trade.
Rutshman himself was also activated from the injured list, making his Boston debut on August 11th. To make room for him, Jake Rogers--also acquired in the Rutschman trade--was designated for assignment. Rogers was claimed by the Tigers and set an MLB record by playing for four different teams in just a 21-day span.
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Other transactions
- Right-handed pitcher Jedixson Paez was promoted from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester. In swingman/piggyback duty with the Sea Dogs, Paez had a 4.41 ERA, 56 strikeouts, and only five walks in 49 innings. He made his WooSox debut on Thursday, giving up just two hits in 3 1/3 shutout innings.
- Three major leaguers were placed on the injured list. Right-handed relievers Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten both went down with right elbow inflammation, while Masataka Yoshida will be out after straining his left hamstring.
- Greg Weissert rejoined the major league club following Whitlock's injury. He had been optioned to Worcester five days prior and had not pitched in a game.
- Mickey Gasper was recalled to take Yoshida's spot. He had been on a tear since being optioned to Worcester at the start of July, hitting .386/.477/.625 with 17 walks and only 12 striketous in 109 plate appearances across 26 games.
- Raymond Burgos was called up in Slaten's place. The 6-foot-5 lefty did yeoman's work during Sunday's contest in Pittsburg, pitching on both sides of the 2:34 rain delay. He ended up throwing four innings, allowing one run on two hits. He was optioned back to Worcester after the game.
- Seth Martinez was designated for assignment, cleared waivers and was outrighted back to Worcester. He appeared in one major league game for the Red Sox, allowing one run.
- The team signed veteran right-handed pitcher Morgan McSweeney to a minor league deal and assigned him to Portland. McSweeney, who had previously pitched in the Orioles and Marlins systems, had most recently been with the Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.
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Story, Anthony assigned to rehab stints
Trevor Story began a rehab assignment with Worcester on Sunday, getting the start at shortstop and going 1 for 2 with a run scored before being replaced by Tsung-Che Cheng in the fifth. Story will play at least two games for the WooSox in their series in Syracuse, and could be activated by the Red Sox by Friday. Story has been out since May 16 with a sports hernia that required surgery.
Roman Anthony, out since May 5th after tearing a tendon in his right ring finger, will begin his rehab in Portland this week. The 22-year-old outfielder appeared in just 30 games before going on the shelf. Provided there are no setbacks, the timing of the assignment would have him back in the majors by the end of Labor Day weekend at the latest.
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Podcast
Chris and Ian stopped by the old podcast studio this weekend. At the top of the agenda were the August ranking updates, the resurgence of Kristian Campbell, and a whole lotta mailbag questions. Check it out here or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Playoffs?
After a relatively disastrous first half in which almost all affiliates were at or near the bottom of the standings, each of the four full-season squads is in a fight for a playoff berth:
- In the jumbled International League standings, Worcester is in a three-way tie for third place, just 1 1/2 games behind Indianapolis. St. Paul sits a 1/2-game ahead of the WooSox, Durham, and Scranton. The winner will play Memphis in the International League Championship. Worcester is tied for the lead in the vestigial division standings.
- Portland is 2 1/2 games behind first-place Reading in the Eastern League Northeast Division. The two teams begin a six-game series on Tuesday at Hadlock Field with Roman Anthony as a ringer.
- Despite being 4 1/2 games behind first-place Bowling Green, Greenville is only a 1/2-game out of the playoff spat for the South Atlantic League's South Division. Because Bowling Green was the first half champion, the second-half winner would get the playoff nod. Greenville will open its six-game set with Winston-Salem, who currently holds that playoff slot, on Tuesday.
- A two-game skid has dropped Salem into third place in the Carolina League North Standings. Salem begins a six-game series with second place Wilson on Tuesday, and then has a seven-game set with first place Fayetteville next week, so it will have plenty of opportunity to make up the 2 1/2 game deficit.
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Player of the Week: August 10 - August 17
Franklin Primera, C, Salem Red Sox
6 G, 9-19, 6 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR, 5 BB, 1 K, .474/.600/.790
While this is the Player of the Week section, it is necessary to acknowledge how scorching hot Franklin Primera has been. Since July 11, he has appeared in 23 games, hitting .410/.549/.654. He has reached base safely in every start. Primera's official on-base streak came to an end on Wednesday when he struck out in his only plate appearance when he entered as a pinch hitter, but even then he managed to reach base, racing to first on a wild pitch after strike three. Among all minor leaguers with at least 250 plate appearances, Primera ranks first in batting average (.379), and on-base percentage (.511), while placing eighth in slugging (.611). For those of you who prefer advanced stats, his .519 wOBA is more than 40 points higher than anyone else in affiliated baseball. Unsurprisingly, Primera was named Carolina League Player of the Week for his effort.
Hobie Harris, RHP, Worcester Red Sox
2 App, 4 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, .177/.177/.177
Harris, 14 years Primera's senior, had a dominant week out of the Worcester bullpen. He pitched in two games, combining for 4 1/3 shutout frames. Most notably was Wednesday's bullpen game in which he entered with a 1-0 deficit in the third inning and fired three scoreless innings, enabling the WooSox comeback. After missing much of the 2026 season with an injury, Harris has allowed five earned runs in 14 innings across nine appearances. The right-hander appeared in 16 major league games out of the Washington Nationals bullpen in 2023.
Photo Credit: Wyatt Olds by Kelly O'Connor