The Boston Red Sox have called up left-handed pitcher Joe Jacques from Triple-A ahead of a pivotal series against the New York Yankees, bringing the 28-year-old one big step closer to completing a very improbable journey to the major leagues — possibly in his hometown.
Jacques, a New York City-area native, had zero Division I scholarship offers coming out of high school before walking onto the Manhattan College baseball team, according to MLB Network.
He was then a 33rd-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates and spent parts of five seasons in that organization before the Red Sox selected him in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft.
Jacques has a 3.58 ERA over 27.2 innings of work in 23 games this season, earning himself a promotion to Alex Cora’s squad just before a massive stretch of games against the Red Sox’s archrival.
Not only that, but Jacques now has a chance to make his long-awaited MLB debut against the team he grew up rooting for — the Yankees.
Jacques boasts a 3.69 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 146 games (four starts) with 10 different teams in his minor league career.
