Red Sox continue to seek bullpen help, add Van Buren

By Jim Callis
December 1, 2005

After finishing next-to-last in the majors with a 5.15 bullpen ERA, the Red Sox are taking steps to shore up their relief corps. A week after adding Guillermo Mota in the Josh Beckett trade, Boston made a minor move on Thursday. The Red Sox acquired Jermaine Van Buren from the Cubs for a player to be named later.

Van Buren, a 25-year-old righthander, made his big league debut in 2005, going 0-2, 3.00 in six appearances. He spent most of the year at Triple-A Iowa, where he earned Pacific Coast League all-star honors by going 2-3, 1.98 in 52 games. He had a 65-22 K-BB ratio in 55 innings while limiting opponents to a .181 average and five homers. His slider is his best pitch, and he locates his 90-92 mph fastball well. He also has a changeup and the confidence to throw any pitch in any count. A second-round pick of the Rockies out of a Mississippi high school in 1998, Van Buren was released in 2003 and spent that year in the independent Central League before signing with the Cubs.

Update: The Red Sox sent outfielder Matt Ciaramella to the Cubs to complete the trade. A 13th-round pick out of the University in Utah in 2004, the 23-year-old Ciaramella missed two months this season after fracturing his right hand in June. He spent most of 2005 at low Class A Greenville, where he batted .302/.360/.422 with four homers and 30 RBIs in 60 games. He has solid speed and some power potential.