Joe Jacques Called Up By Red Sox; 33rd-Round MLB Draft Pick Had No D1 Offers

Left-handed reliever Joe Jacques is getting called up to MLB five years after being a 33rd-round draft pick.

Per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Boston Red Sox are adding Jacques to their roster prior to Friday's game against the New York Yankees.

MLB Network's Jon Morosi noted Jacques went from being a college walk-on at Manhattan after receiving no Division I scholarship offers to signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates for $1,000 as a 33rd-round pick in 2018 before being selected by the Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft in December.

Jacques was the 13th pick in Round 1 of the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. He appeared in 123 games in the minors with the Pirates from 2018 to '22.

The lefty made 29 appearances at Triple-A in 2022. He posted a 3.62 ERA with 27 strikeouts over 37.1 innings with the Indianapolis Indians.

The Red Sox sent Jacques to their Triple-A affiliate to start this season. He has a 3.58 ERA in 27.2 innings, and opponents are hitting .255 against him with Worcester.

Boston's pitching depth is lacking right now. Corey Kluber had to labor through 3.1 innings in Thursday's 10-3 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. He allowed seven runs on 11 hits after taking over for Matt Dermody.

Chris Sale, Richard Bleier, John Schreiber, Zack Kelly and Joely Rodríguez are all on the injured list. Red Sox relievers have thrown the eighth-most innings of any bullpen this season.

Jacques is a great story because he was such an unheralded prospect, but he could also emerge as a key contributor for manager Alex Cora because there aren't a lot of great options from which to choose.

The Red Sox have lost seven of their last 10 games and are under .500 (31-32) for the first time since April 28. Six of their next nine games are against the Yankees, starting with this weekend's series at Yankee Stadium.