Shocking Twist: Boston Deals Away Relief Ace: Red Sox Trade Cam Booser to White Sox
The Red Sox simultaneously created a 40-man roster spot and added a young pitching prospect to the organizational pipeline by connecting on their second trade in as many weeks with the White Sox on Saturday evening.
In exchange for left-handed reliever Cam Booser, who forged a 3.38 ERA in 43 relief appearances (42 2/3 innings) as a 32-year-old rookie this past season, Boston acquired right-hander Yhoiker Fajardo from Chicago.
Fajardo, 18, made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League this year after signing with the White Sox for $400,000 as an international free agent coming out of Venezuela in February. The Villa de Cura native earned DSL Mid-Season All-Star honors en route to posting a 3.91 ERA (2.50 FIP) with 64 strikeouts to eight walks in 13 starts (50 2/3 innings) for Chicago’s rookie-level affiliate. Opposing hitters batted .260 against him.
Among the 19 Dominican Summer League pitchers who eclipsed the 50-inning mark in 2024, Fajardo ranked first in FIP and xFIP (2.33), third in strikeouts per nine innings (11.37), strikeout rate (30.2 percent), and swinging-strike rate (43.4 percent), and fourth in walks per nine innings (1.42), walk rate (3.8 percent), and groundball rate (55.6 percent), per FanGraphs. He also produced the highest BABIP (.365) of that group, which suggests that luck may not have necessarily been on his side.
Listed at 6-foot-3 and 181-185 pounds, Fajardo has been described by Baseball America’s Ben Badler as “a good athlete with an easy delivery that he repeats well from a consistent release point on all of his pitches.” The projectable righty still has plenty of room to grow physically but currently sits between 90-95 mph with his fastball while mixing in a low-80s slider and an occasional hard changeup.
Barring a surprise, Fajardo — who does not turn 19 until next October — will likely open the 2025 season in the Florida Complex League.
