Red Sox make second round of spring training roster cuts; Wilyer Abreu optioned to Triple-A Worcester

Before falling to the Twins in the afternoon, the Red Sox made their second round of spring training roster cuts on Saturday morning.

Per a team announcement, outfielder Wilyer Abreu — who is on the 40-man roster — was optioned to Triple-A Worcester while right-handers Taylor Broadway, Jake Faria, Durbin Feltman, and Norwith Gudino were all reassigned to minor-league camp.

Abreu, one of two prospects acquired from the Astros in last August’s Christian Vazquez trade, was added to Boston’s 40-man roster in November in order to receive protection from the Rule 5 Draft. The 23-year-old Venezuelan came into the spring ranked by Baseball America as the No. 22 prospect in the Red Sox’ farm system.

In the seventh inning of last Sunday’s Grapefruit League contest against the Marlins at JetBlue Park, Abreu strained his left hamstring after singling and rounding the first-base bag awkwardly. He was immediately removed from the game and has not been used since.

As such, it would not be all that surprising if Abreu begins the 2023 season on the injured list with whichever minor-league affiliate he is with. Prior to injuring himself, the left-handed hitter had gotten his first spring with the Red Sox off to an impressive start by going 4-for-12 (.333) at the plate with a triple, a home run, four runs driven in, five runs scored, two walks, and four strikeouts in seven Grapefruit League games.

Of the four pitchers reassigned to minor-league camp on Saturday, Faria is the only one with past big-league experience. The 29-year-old righty signed a minors pact with Boston in early February and has gotten into five Grapefruit League games thus far, posting a 4.15 ERA with four strikeouts to one walk over 4 1/3 innings of work.

Broadway, who the Red Sox acquired from the White Sox as the player to be named later in last August’s Jake Diekman/Reese McGuire swap, has yet to allow a run in 3 1/3 innings of relief this spring. The 25-year-old right-hander has issued three walks and has struck out three of the 14 batters he has faced.

Feltman, a former-third round draft selection out of TCU in 2018, has yielded just one run across four appearances (five innings). Gudino, who was signed to a minor-league deal in December, has surrendered four runs on eight hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings this spring.

As a member of Venezuela’s designated pitcher pool for the World Baseball Classic, Gudino could soon leave Fort Myers for Miami if his country advances past the first round of the tournament.

With Saturday’s subtractions, the size of Boston’s spring training roster has shrunk from 60 to 55 players. Sixteen of the 55 players who remain are not on the 40-man roster and are therefore at camp as non-roster invitees.

BOSTON RED SOX NON-ROSTER INVITEES (16)

Pitchers (4): Matt Dermody, Oddanier Mosqueda, Ryan Sherriff, Chase Shugart

Catchers (4): Jorge Alfaro, Caleb Hamilton, Ronaldo Hernández, Stephen Scott

Infielders (1): Christian Koss

Outfielders (3): Greg Allen, Narciso Crook, Raimel Tapia

Infielder/Outfielders (4): Ryan Fitzgerald, Niko Goodrum, Daniel Palka, Nick Sogard