The Red Sox and White Sox synced Saturday evening on their second trade of December, although the latest move will fly far more under the radar.
The White Sox acquired 32-year-old lefty reliever Cam Booser from Boston in exchange for teenage RHP Yhoiker Fajardo. Booser made his big league debut in 2024, a decade after he signed with the Twins as an undrafted free agent. His winding path through professional baseball included several significant injuries, a suspension and retirement in 2017 to become a carpenter. Booser resurfaced in independent ball in 2021 and later signed with the Red Sox.
He went 2-3, 3.38 with 43 strikeouts to 16 walks over 42.2 innings out of Boston’s bullpen in 2024. The Red Sox needed a spot on their 40-man roster following the reported signing of LHP Patrick Sandoval to a two-year deal.
Fajardo, 18, went 1-4, 3.91 with 64 strikeouts to just eight walks over 50.2 innings in his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2024. He earned a midseason DSL all-star nod.
RED SOX RECEIVE
Yhoiker Fajardo, RHP
Age: 18
Fajardo just turned 18 years old in October and stands 6-foot-3, 181 pounds. He signed with the White Sox for $400,000 out of Venezuela in 2024 on the strength of a lively fastball and projectable starter’s frame. At the time, amateur scouts liked his athleticism, repeatable delivery and climbing velocity.
His fastball took another step forward in the DSL, sitting 92 mph and maxing out at 95. He attacked hitters with an east-west approach and paired his running fastball with a short low-80s slider that showed late break and could become a plus pitch down the road. He also dabbled with an upper-80s changeup. Fajardo is light years away but his loose delivery, above-average feel for pitching and potential to throw even harder gives Boston an interesting teenage arm to work with. He just missed the White Sox Top 30 Prospects entering 2025.
WHITE SOX RECEIVE
Cam Booser, LHP
Age: 32
Booser emerged as an unexpectedly reliable option in the middle innings for Red Sox manager Alex Cora in 2024. He attacks hitters with a mid-90s fastball, upper-80s cutter and a low-80s sweeper. Both his secondaries elicited whiffs roughly 31-32% of the time. His path to a substantial role in Boston became murkier this winter when the Red Sox acquired two more lefties in Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson. A path to opportunities in higher leverage should be far easier to forge in a White Sox…