White Sox acquire lefty reliever Cam Booser from Boston Red Sox
Cam Booser
Late on Saturday afternoon, Robert Murray of Fansided reported that the White Sox were acquiring left-hander Cam Booser from Boston. It took a bit to figure out the return but the White Sox ultimately reported the deal from their own twitter account.
What the White Sox are getting
Cam Booser has a very extensive injury history. That’s how you end up making your major league audition at 32 and becoming the oldest player in 77 years to debut with the Red Sox. That debut came in 2024 and the southpaw posted a 1.04 FIP while averaging 17 K/9 in 10 innings to start the year in Triple-A. Once called up to the Red Sox, the 6-3, 225 pounder posted a 3.38 ERA with a 3.80 FIP and 43 strikeouts with 16 walks over the course of 42.2 innings.
His stunning performance led the Red Sox to award Booser their Tony Conigliaro Award for adversity and perseverance. It seemed well earned as the left-hander traveled a very winding road to the big leagues. Booser broke his femur in high school while playing football, fractured his vertebra, underwent Tommy John surgery, had multiple elbow scopes and tore his labrum.
Cam Booser was originally signed by the Minnesota Twins as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon State University in 2013. He spent the 2013-2017 seasons in the Twins’ organization. A Tacoma, Washington native originally, the lefty quit baseball after 2017 and joined the carpenters’ union near Seattle. Realizing he was finally healthy with the itch to continue the dream, Booser pitched for the Chicago Dogs of The American Association out of Rosemont, Illinois in 2021.
Once the Twins finally granted Booser’s release, he signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022. He was then released by the Snakes after 26 innings of struggles in Double-A Amarillo. Booser signed with the Red Sox before the 2023 season.
The southpaw possesses a three pitch mix highlighted by a 95 mph fastball and an 88 mph cutter. He throws a low 80’s sweeper as well. The White Sox gave up an actual prospect for Booser so they likely see some upside in the profile and it’s another piece for pitching coach Ethan Katz and senior advisor to pitching, Brian Bannister to utilize. Booser has five years of contract control and three valuable minor league options remaining. He likely joins Fraser Ellard and Jared Shuster as the third lefty in Will Venable’s bullpen in 2025.
What the White Sox gave up
Yhoiker Fajardo might’ve been the most interesting player in the White Sox’s 2024 international signing class. He inked for $400K out of Venezuela and after his body matured, he became one of the best pitchers in the Dominican Summer League. The 18-year-old posted a 2.50 FIP with 64 strikeouts and eight walks in 50.2 innings with 13 starts.
Fajardo was often praised as an underrated arm by Baseball America’s Ben Badler and the hurler improved his fastball velocity during the DSL season. Fajardo has an athletic frame with a loose arm and he possesses starter traits. The Venezuelan can add some mass to his frame as well. Fajardo’s fastball sat in the low 90’s while touching 95 mph. He displayed a low 80’s slider as well and he’ll need to refine a third pitch.
Fajardo came in at #30 on our end of season top prospect’s list. He was unlikely to make our upcoming pre-season top 30 list but he definitely would’ve been mentioned on the just missed portion. There’s a scouting report coming on Fajardo from Bill Mitchell of Baseball America on an upcoming edition of the FutureSox podcast.
Giving up teenage prospects with this much upside can be risky but Fajardo is really far away from the majors and the White Sox clearly believe that the potential reward outweighs the perceived risk. Fajardo will pitch in the stateside complex league this year and Booser should extract a more significant trade return than this if the White Sox move him at the 2025 trade deadline after a solid season in the big league bullpen.
The White Sox designated 28-year-old outfielder Corey Julks for assignment to create the roster spot for Cam Booser. Julks posted an 88 wRC+ vs lefties with three homers in the big leagues last year but he slashed just .214/.275/.306 while playing multiple outfield spots. The White Sox have added to their outfield mix this winter and his roster spot seemed tenuous heading into spring training.
