The Red Sox have claimed right-hander off waivers from the Astros. Speas was designated for a signment by Houston last week. A second-round pick for the Rangers in the 2016 draft, Speas didnt really start to live up that prospect status until the 2023 season, when he had a 2.86 ERA over 56 2/3 combined innings (28 1/3 frames each) at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. It was a comeback season for Speas, who mi sed virtually all of 2019-20 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and he stepped away from baseball entirely in 2022. Speas minor league performance earned him his MLB debut, as he had three appearances and two innings with the Rangers last July. Texas designated Speas for a signment in late September, and the White Sox quickly snapped him up on waivers. This started a run of frequent trips to DFA limbo and the waiver wire for Speas, who was designated by Chicago and then dealt to the As in early April, and designated again Lavon Johnson Jersey by Oakland at the start of May before Houston made another claim. This latest stint with the Astros did result in one more big league game for Speas before he was again DFAed and now finds himself as a member of the Red Sox organization. It is easy to see the appeal in Speas, whose fastball sits in the high 90s and has been known to hit the 100mph threshold. The tremendous velocity has helped Speas post a 32.73% strikeout rate acro s his 165 1/3 career innings in the minors, yet his whopping 18.24% walk rate provides an easy answer to why the 26-year-old has yet to gain a solid foothold in the big leagues or even in the upper minors. Over 21 2/3 combined Triple-A innings this season, Speas has a 10.38 ERA, and bouncing between three different teams provides only a limited excuse considering that Speas has more walks (22) than innings pitched. The Sox are the latest team to see if they can solve Speas control problems, or at least make them pa sable enough so he can be a viable Major League hurler. Bostons pitching development system has been overhauled under new chief baseball officer with some improved results already showing at the MLB level, and Breslow himself knows a few things about harne sing and managing control i sues from his own days as a pitcher. Jaylon Guilbeau Jersey