Kyle Tyler spent exactly four days and two minutes as a member of the Red Sox last week. To the world, his short stint represented nothing more than a minor roster move in the middle of spring training. But for Tyler, the stretch was an unforgettable one filled with packing, cross-country flights, uncertainty and a few harsh lessons about the business of baseball.
Tyler, a longtime member of the Angels organization who debuted in the majors year, actually flew from Arizona to Fort Myers last Wednesday and reported to the Fenway South complex the next morning. He had just finished his first game of catch in a Red Sox uniform when a team executive pulled him aside and told him he had been cut. Two days later, after sitting in a Fort Myers hotel for 48 hours, he was claimed by the Padres, who, as luck would have it, train in Arizona. By Saturday night, Tyler was on a flight back to Phoenix to join his third team in a week.
“I’ve seen guys in the organization go up and down between levels quite a bit and seen friends and teammates that get traded here or get traded there. But this is the first true experience I’ve seen that is the business of baseball,” Tyler said. “Very crazy.”
Tyler’s wacky week actually started on March 19, when he was designated for assignment by the Angels. Three days later, the Angels informed him he had been picked up by the Red Sox and needed to head to Florida as soon as possible. He packed up his temporary home in Mesa (”in essence, what was my life at that point in time,” he said) that Tuesday night and hopped on a 7 a.m. PT flight the next morning. After a connection in Minneapolis, he landed in Fort Myers around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning, Tyler hopped on an early bus to Fenway South and spent just a few hours with the Red Sox before getting designated for assignment again.
“I was just hanging out, talking to some of the guys and get a tap on my shoulder and get told, ‘Hey, I know you’ve only been here for a couple of hours but we DFA’d you,’” he said. “So I went back into the clubhouse and packed up my bag again.”
Tyler then spent about 48 hours in a Fort Myers hotel before learning he would be joining the Padres. By 6 p.m. Saturday evening, he was on a flight back to Arizona. At 7 a.m. PT Sunday morning, he arrived at San Diego’s spring complex in Peoria. Because Mesa and Peoria are about 45 minutes apart, he couldn’t move back into the old place he had early in spring training. Making things more complicated was the fact Tyler’s parents had done him a favor and driven his car back to Oklahoma so it wouldn’t idle in Arizona.
After spending almost four years with the Angels, Tyler had been with three different organizations in the span of five days.
“To know that I am wanted by more than just one team is nice to know,” he said. “It also kind of stinks for the fact that I might have to be traveling a lot.”
The Red Sox, who are always on the lookout for pitching depth, thought adding Tyler would be a good way to add a versatile, young arm to their 40-man roster and decided to cut infielder Hudson Potts in order to add him. Tyler, 25, had a 2.92 ERA in 12 ⅓ major league innings and as a swingman with minor-league options remaining, would have given Boston a versatile arm at Triple-A Worcester. But two days later, when former Twins righty Ralph Garza Jr. became available, Boston’s decision-makers felt that Garza would represent an upgrade. The Sox claimed Garza from the Twins and cut Tyler to open a roster spot.
“If we think we can improve our roster with a transaction at the right cost — and obviously, a waiver claim is a small cost — we have to try to find advantages any way we can and try to add depth to the organization,” said general manager Brian O’Halloran.
O’Halloran said the Red Sox hoped Tyler would clear waivers and remain with the WooSox to start the season. As a member of Boston’s front office for almost two decades, O’Halloran has seen just about everything in terms of transactions. That doesn’t make it any less hard to see a player’s life uprooted like Tyler’s was.
“It is an unfortunate part of the game and you hate to see it,” O’Halloran said. “Someone having to fly across the country, only here for a few days and then back, it’s not something you plan or intend to do. Sometimes, that’s the reality of a transaction.
“A single transaction is a shock to the system as it would be for anyone,” he added. “If all of the sudden you’re told you have to go to a different city or a different place, that’s a reality of the game but it can be jarring for players of course. From the team side, you try to be as sensitive as possible but I do think everybody, including players, understand that’s part of the business.”
Unfortunately, Tyler might have traded arm strength for frequent flyer miles in the last few days. When he joined the Padres on Sunday, it had been 10 days since he had thrown off a mound in any capacity. Plyometric workouts and throwing against hotel room walls couldn’t simulate actual game action. The craziness of his travels were ill-timed, coming in the middle of a spring training that was already shortened.
“Very, very disruptive to say the least,” he said. “That definitely pushes back my ability to be ready for the upcoming season.”
For Tyler, the whirlwind has come to an end — at least for now. In case anyone ever doubts that he was actually a member of the Red Sox, he kept a team-issued workout shirt with his name on it and shorts to prove it. And who knows? Maybe down the line, he’ll be on waivers again and the Red Sox will have an open roster spot. From this point forward, nothing that happens in Tyler’s career will surprise him.
“This is not necessarily what we signed up for, but it is,” Tyler said. “Signing up for our lives to basically be in a suitcase for 7-10 months out of the year. Having to go wherever, whenever, at the drop of a hat.”
Full article can be found at: https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2022/03/kyle-tyler-flew-from-arizona-to-fort-myers-just-to-have-boston-red-sox-cut-him-after-one-game-of-catch-its-an-unfortunate-part-of-the-game.html