Choosing between a promising pitching prospect and a difficult decision, Boston Red Sox are about to reach….

Choosing between a promising pitching prospect and a difficult decision.

With regard to right-hander Bryan Mata, the Red Sox are about to reach a turning point. As reported by Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Mata has started his rehabilitation program in an effort to recover from a hamstring strain he sustained in February. The 25-year-old, who was considered among the team’s best pitching prospects, has suffered with injuries and inefficiency over the last two seasons. Since the 2023 season began, he has pitched 31 innings at all levels of the minors, recording a cumulative 6.39 ERA.

While the rehab assignment for a struggling pitcher who has yet to make his big league debut wouldn’t typically be especially notable, Mata’s is because the righty is out of options. Given that, the Red Sox will have to make a decision regarding his future in the organization once his rehab clock runs out on June 12. If the club isn’t willing to offer Mata a spot on the active roster, they’ll need to designate him for assignment and risk losing him on waivers to get the chance to outright the young righty to the minor leagues. MassLive’s Sean McAdam reported in February that the Red Sox expect Mata to be claimed if he’s exposed to waivers, though it’s possible that could change depending on how he looks throughout his rehab assignment.

Losing Mata on waivers would be a frustrating outcome for the Red Sox given the tantalizing talent he flashed prior to injuries sidetracking his career. In his most recent healthy season, the right-hander pitched to a strong 2.49 ERA in 83 innings while advancing through four levels of the minor leagues, including a 1.85 ERA in 10 appearances at the Double-A level and a 3.47 ERA in five starts at Triple-A. That season, Mata struck out a whopping 30.3% of batters faced, albeit with an elevated 13.3% walk rate. If the righty can get anything close to those huge strikeout numbers during his rehab assignment, it could certainly make sense for the club to offer him a role in the bullpen given the number of optionable relief arms they’re currently utilizing.