Connecticut native Barnes designated for assignment

Former Uconn pitcher and Bethel native Matt Barnes was designated for assignment by the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.

The Red Sox made the move in order to make room on the roster for incoming free-agent outfielder Adam Duvall. The team has seven days from when it made the designation to either trade Barnes or place him on irrevocable waivers.

Barnes, 32, had been the longest-tenured member of the Red Sox, having made his debut in 2014. He earned that distinction after the much-maligned front office, led by chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, failed to re-sign shortstop Xander Bogaerts this offseason.

In nine years with the Red Sox, Barnes posted a 32-30 record, all as a reliever outside of two starts in 2015, and a 4.07 ERA.

Last season he was 0-4 with a 4.31 ERA. He was up and down in his Red Sox career, though at times dominant, and pitched well in the closer’s role in 2021. That season,he was named an All-star and saved a career-best 24 games while posting a 3.79 ERA.

He also helped Boston win the World Series in 2018, pitching to a career-best 3.65 ERA. In the postseason that year he gave up just one run in 8 innings.

“Obviously a really, really difficult decision,” said Bloom, according to Mlb.com. “The conversation itself [with Barnes] was one of the more difficult ones that I’ve had.

“But, you know, I think more than anything this is just a function of where we’re at in the offseason and with our 40-man roster. There are no easy decisions, and regardless of recent accomplishments, regardless of what they have under their belts in their careers, everybody on our 40-man roster has real value.

“That forces tough choices, and it’s obviously something we’ve been working through all offseason. And today we landed on Matt, but beyond that it’s certainly nothing negative about him. I think it’s more a statement of where we’re

at with the 40-man roster.”

Barnes was drafted by the Red Sox out of Uconn with the 19th overall pick in 2011.

He was due to make $7.5 million in 2023, which was the final year of his contract.

Red Sox acquire Mondesi:

The Red Sox dealt lefthander Josh Taylor to the Kansas City Royals for injury-prone shortstop Adalberto Mondesi and an additional player on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old Taylor missed all of last season with a back injury, but he was solid over the previous three seasons in Boston, with a 3.69 ERA and 129 strikeouts over 121 appearances. At one point during the 2021 season he had a streak of 26 consecutive scoreless outings, the longest streak for a

left-hander in franchise history.

He also pitched in six of 11 postseason games for the Red Sox in ’21, allowing one earned run over four innings pitched.

Mondesi signed with the Royals in 2011 and has played his entire career with the club. He made his big-league debut in the 2015 World Series, when it seemed as if his future was limitless. But despite elite speed and defense, and showing flashes at the plate, Mondesi was never able to stay healthy, appearing in just 109 games over the past three seasons.

The Red Sox, who have been in the market for shortstop help, hope the 27-year-old Mondesi can stay on the field and make good on the promise he showed in 2019, when he hit .263 with nine homers and 43 steals in 102 games.