Minor Notes: Tommy John surgery for Perales and Bastardo; Campbell stays hot

A brutal year for pitching injuries continued with the Red Sox set to lose Luis Perales and Angel Bastardo to Tommy John surgery. Elsewhere the major league team is getting a bit healthier with Wilyer Abreu and Chris Martin getting activated from the injured. On the field in the minors, it was the Kristian Campbell (pictured) show once again. 

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It was a tough week for injury news, with reports that Luis Perales and Angel Bastardo will need Tommy John surgery. With the recovery timeline being 14 to 18 months, both pitchers are expected to miss most, if not all, of the 2025 season. Perales had recently cemented himself as the top pitching prospect in the system and a top-100 overall prospect in baseball. As he is on the 40-man roster, the Red Sox will look to receive a fourth option year for Perales. Otherwise, he would have one option left at the end of the 2025 season. 

Bastardo, a teammate on the Sea Dogs with Perales, was placed on the injured list on June 6. He had gotten off to a hot start in Portland this year but cooled off considerably over the last six starts. He finished April with a 2.89 ERA, but a tough stretch saw his ERA rise to 5.40. 

After a brief rehab stint that saw him hit two home runs in three games with the WooSox, Boston activated Wilyer Abreu from the 10-day injured list. Bobby Dalbec got optioned to Worcester to make room on the roster. Dalbec went 4 for 30 in his most recent 15-game term with the big league club. 

After Chris Martin was activated from the 15-day injured list, Boston optioned Cooper Criswell to Worcester. Chase Anderson seemed likely to be sent down as he had not pitched since June 14, but the Red Sox may want Criswell to work on things in Worcester. After a strong start to the year, Criswell has a 5.30 ERA since the beginning of May. 

The Red Sox still needed to finish tweaking their bullpen, and on Monday they optioned Cam Booser and Brad Keller to Worcester while recalling Isaiah Campbell and Josh Winckowski. Campbell did allow a mammoth home run to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on Monday night, but Boston was able to come back and win. Winckowski was the SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week last week and has been excellent over the last month with the WooSox. 

Andrew "AJ" Politi, a 15th-round pick in the 2018 draft, got released from Worcester. The 28-year-old took a step back in 2023 with Worcester and had gotten off to a rough start in 2024. He had a good year in 2022, posting an ERA of 2.34 in 69 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. His ERA nearly doubled to 4.45 in 2023 and was 12.19 in 2024. He was a SoxProspects.com All-Star in 2022 and peaked at 31 in the rankings. 

Alex Binelas and Nicholas Judice were placed on the 7-day injured list retroactive to June 16 with undisclosed injuries. 

Christopher Smith of MassLive.com spoke in-depth about Kyle Teel with Red Sox director of player development Brian Abraham. Abraham discussed some key development points that Teel is working on, including improving his bat speed and, defensively, his receiving in the bottom of the zone. 

Nick Yorke has been outstanding in his first three weeks with the WooSox. The 22-year-old has an OPS of .992 over 16 games. In an interview with Tommy Cassell of the Worcester Telegram, Yorke discussed his journey through the Red Sox system since being drafted in the first round in 2020. Yorke's mother came from California to watch him play last week, which Yorke relished. His mother, Robyn, was a four-time All-America selection in softball at Fresno State. 

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