Brandon Walter

Walter has a spot on the 40-man roster and will compete as a backend starter during spring training. Beyond Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello, Walter's name can be thrown into the mix with Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock and Nick Pivetta. The 27-year-old lefty had a rocky first half, which included a 6.26 ERA over 23 innings mid-summer for Boston. He wasn't much better before that at Triple-A Worcester; however, the right-hander thrived during the second half upon his return to Triple-A (1.48 ERA over 30 innings). He attributed his success to pounding the strike zone. That's what he did during a breakout 2021 campaign to put himself on the prospect radar. The organization will probably want Walter to build off the second-half success and begin 2024 at Worcester. If he's to break camp with Boston, it will be likely be as a multi-inning relief arm.