Red Sox to call up 31-year-old ex-carpenter Cam Booser
April 19 (UPI) -- Former carpenter Cam Booser, a 31-year-old pitcher who spent four years out of professional baseball, will be promoted from the minor leagues and join the Boston Red Sox big-league roster, his agency announced.
NW Sports Management Group announced the move Thursday night, but the Red Sox have yet to finalize the transaction. They will face the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night in Pittsburgh.
Booser, who went undrafted, started his career in the Minnesota Twins organization in 2013. He has never appeared in an MLB game.
The left-handed relief pitcher went 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA over four appearances this year for the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox. He went 4-3 with a 4.99 ERA over 48 appearances last season in Triple A.
He went 9-15 with a 4.72 ERA over 149 career appearances in the minor leagues. Booser, who can throw a 99-mph fastball and deceptive cutter, earned his first major-league spring training invitation last off-season. He was reassigned to minor-league camp in March.
Cam Booser tonight in Worcester pic.twitter.com/1GCaEpRjdk— NW Sports Management (@NWSMG) April 17, 2024
Booser went 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in nine games at spring training. He allowed four hits and two runs over 10 innings.
He retired from baseball in 2017 after undergoing several surgeries, including one for a back injury he sustained after he was hit by a car while riding a bike.
He also was suspended for 50 games in 2017 for testing positive for a drug of abuse for the second time. He was with the Twins, who tried to convert him into an outfielder.
Booser moved back to Seattle, his hometown, where he took up carpentry, primarily working on ceilings in downtown high-rises.
"I joined the local carpenters union back in Seattle, Local 41," Booser told MLB.com. "I worked for the company that my dad was a part of for a long time. When I originally retired, I thought that was it. I didn't have any plans of coming back."
Booser said he was inspired to return to the game while giving baseball lessons to young players in Seattle. He joined the Chicago Dogs, an independent baseball league team, in 2021.
Booser went 1-2 with a 1.93 ERA in 21 appearances that year for the Dogs. The Arizona Diamondbacks signed him to a minor-league deal in 2022. He went 1-1 with a 6.48 ERA over 19 appearances that year for the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles.
He joined the Red Sox a year later and became one of the best relief pitchers for the Worcester Red Sox. He dropped his ERA by more than two runs between 2023 and 2024 to earn his first major-league promotion.
The Red Sox announced Thursday night that they also acquired right-handed pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez through a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.
They transferred shortstop Trevor Story to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding transaction. The Red Sox also optioned left-handed pitcher Joe Jacques to the Worcester Red Sox.
The first pitch for the Red Sox-Pirates series opener is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. EDT Friday at PNC Park.
