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Red Sox roster: Starter (4.00 ERA in 2 years) claimed by Mets after trade, DFA
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- Red Sox roster: Starter (4.00 ERA in 2 years) claimed by Mets after trade, DFA
A day after making their second trade for starting pitching in a two-week span, the Red Sox lost one of their depth starters on waivers Friday.
Righty Cooper Criswell was claimed by the Mets less than 24 hours after the Red Sox exposed him to waivers by designating him for assignment . Criswell was designated to clear a 40-man roster spot late Thursday after Boston acquired pitchers Johan Oviedo and lefty Tyler Samaniego as part of a five-player trade that sent outfielder Jhostynxton Garcia to Pittsburgh . Boston was hoping Criswell would clear waivers and return to the organization but New York scooped him up quickly.
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Criswell, 29, spent two years with the Sox after signing a free agent deal in December 2023 . In total, he logged a 4.00 ERA (and 4.31 FIP) in 117 innings over 33 games (19 starts) while also making 21 appearances (19 starts) at Triple-A Worcester. Criswell emerged as a rotation fill-in in 2024 and logged a 3.49 ERA in 18 starts while other pitchers were injured. His major league chances were limited in 2025 (17 ⅔ innings) but he impressed in an August 1 spot start in which he held the Astros to one run in seven strong innings.
Criswell didn’t pitch after an August 14 appearance for the WooSox due to elbow soreness but was close to 100% by the end of the year. After the season, the Red Sox identified him as a potential 40-man roster casualty ahead of the non-tender deadline and struck an early, somewhat unusual $800,000 guaranteed agreement for 2026 in an effort to keep him . The thinking was that if the club needed to clear a 40-man spot by exposing Criswell to waivers, he’d be more likely to clear waivers and accept an assignment to Triple-A Worcester because his salary was guaranteed and non-negotiable. The Mets clearly didn’t see that as an inhibiting factor for Criswell, who is out of minor league options and must remain on the active big league roster (or be exposed to waivers again).
Criswell became somewhat expendable for a Red Sox team that has Garrett Crochet , Sonny Gray and Brayan Bello currently headlining their rotation and O viedo joining a group of back-end possibilities that also includes Kutter Crawford , Patrick Sandoval , Connelly Early , Payton Tolle , Hunter Dobbins , Kyle Harrison and new 40-man additions Shane Drohan, David Sandlin and Tyler Uberstine.
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