Red Sox Acquire Infielder From Division Rival For Reliever

The 40-man roster deadline is on Tuesday. Ahead of the deadline, the Boston Red Sox made a move by acquiring infielder Tristan Gray from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for reliever Luis Guerrero. In order to make room for Gray, the Red Sox designated Nathaniel Lowe for assignment.

Gray, 29, has appeared in 47 games over three seasons for three different teams. In those 47 games, he’s slashed .207/.264/.369 with four home runs. He hits left-handed and is versatile in the field, spending time at all four infield spots in 2025. Gray is yet to hit arbitration, and has one minor league option remaining.

While the numbers for Gray don’t pop off the page, some underlying metrics suggest he could improve. In a small sample, Gray showed plus bat speed despite a fairly short swing. The results didn’t necessarily translate as he whiffed at a high clip, but high bat speed is always an attractive trait for an acquiring team. It’s reminiscent of when the Red Sox acquired Romy Gonzalez from the Chicago White Sox, despite mediocre major league results to that point.

Gray also pulled the ball in the air frequently. While Fenway Park isn’t the best stadium for lefties to hit pull-side home runs, pulled fly balls do the most damage of any type of batted balls on average, and tend to lead to positive results.

Guerrero debuted for the Red Sox in 2024 and flashed stuff, but injuries kept him away from the big league club for most of 2025. He appeared in 13 games and registered a 4.15 ERA over 17 1/3 innings. He throws a hard fastball and has swing-and-miss breaking pitches, but hasn’t been able to iron out his control. The Rays will look to fine-tune his mechanics to turn him into an effective bullpen piece.

To make room for Gray on the 40-man roster, the Red Sox designated first baseman Nathaniel Lowe for assignment.