Red Sox designate Austin Brice for assignment to make space for Jarren Duran

The Red Sox announced they’ve designated reliever Austin Brice for assignment. The move clears 40-man roster space for the previously reported promotion of top outfield prospect Jarren Duran.

It’s the second time this season the Sox have designated Brice for assignment. The righty passed through waivers in May and remained in the organization. Between his pair of big league stints, Brice has made 13 appearances and tossed 13 2/3 innings of 6.59 ERA ball with subpar strikeout and walk rates (18.8% and 10.9%, respectively). It’s the second consecutive down year for Brice, who joined Boston on the heels of a solid 2019 campaign with the Marlins.

The Red Sox will have a week to trade Brice or expose him to waivers. He accepted an outright assignment after clearing waivers two months ago, but rejecting that assignment would’ve meant forfeiting the remainder of his $870K salary. Should he pass through outright waivers a second time in his career, Brice could elect free agency while still collecting all of his remaining guaranteed money.