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An arm problem is plaguing another Red Sox pitcher.
Brandon Walter, a left-hander who was projected to start for Triple-A Worcester, has been sidelined due to a left rotator cuff strain, a source informed MassLive on Wednesday. Rather than heading north to start the season, Walter will stay in Fort Myers for extended spring training. The Red Sox are still assessing the nature of the injury, so there is no clear schedule for his return to the mound.
Relegated to minor league camp on March 6, Walter, 27, was among the first cuts of spring training. The 40-man roster player, a native of Delaware, was anticipated to be among Boston’s best depth rotation options coming into the season. With Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock, and Tanner Houck as their starting lineup, the Red Sox don’t have many long-legged players. The top two internal options seemed to be Josh Winckowski (in the big league bullpen) and Cooper Criswell (in the Triple-A rotation). The Red Sox tried to bolster their options by signing veteran Chase Anderson to a major league deal over the weekend and acquiring Japanese rookie Naoyuki Uwasawa in a trade on Wednesday.
Despite being one of the organization’s best pitching prospects going into 2023, Walter failed in Triple-A and, in a smaller sample size, the major leagues. Following his dominance in Double-A in 2022, the southpaw posted a 4.60 ERA and 8.4 K/9 rate in 94 innings for the WooSox after posting a 6.26 ERA and 1.696 WHIP in 23 bullpen innings in the majors. Chris Smith of MassLive did not list Walter as one of the organization’s top 25 prospects at the start of the season. The lefty is ranked 33rd in the system by SoxProspects.
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