Red Sox

4 things to know about new Red Sox pitcher Lucas Sims

The righty was exchanged from the Cincinnati Reds.

The Red Sox added reliever Lucas Sims at the trade deadline.

By Cam Kerry, The Boston Globe

July 31, 2024

In an effort to bolster a spiraling and injury-depleted bullpen, the Red Sox acquired Lucas Sims from the Reds in exchange for 19-year-old prospect Ovis Portes.

Sims had been a productive part of the Reds bullpen while working in high-leverage situations, posting 12 holds and a save with a 3.57 ERA in 35 ⅓ innings.

Here are four things to know about him.

Sims relies on a heavy sweeper and four-seam fastball combination.

The 30-year-old righty clearly trusts the two offerings, choosing the sweeper and four-seamer on 541 of his 635 pitches this season (85.1%). He has thrown the sweeper 309 times this season, or 48.7% of his total pitches. The 6-foot-2, 213 pound hurler also incorporates a cutter and a curveball, but to a much more limited extent. Given the philosophy of pitching coach Andrew Bailey, Sims could lower the frequency of his fastball usage with the Red Sox.

He limits hard contact and base hits.

One of Sims’ strongest points is that he does not allow the ball to spring off the bat. He ranks in MLB’s 95th percentile in average exit velocity (86.1 MPH). He only surrenders hard contact 34.4% of the time, placing him in the 79th percentile of the league.

Sims sports a .222 batting average against, placing him in the 78th percentile.

The phenomenon isn’t limited to this year; In 2020 and 2023, he finished in the top 1% of pitchers in batting average against, with marks of .133 and .177, respectively.

Since the start of the 2019 season, Sims has held opponents to a .190 batting average, the seventh-lowest mark among pitchers with at least 200 innings in that span.

In his last 30 appearances, the right-hander has recorded a 2.25 ERA, and he hasn’t allowed a home run in 14 outings since June 22.

Sims does well in the strikeout department but struggles with free passes.

With 40 punchouts in 35 ⅓ innings, Sims ranks in the 74th percentile in strikeout rate (26.0%). He boasts high chase and whiff rates, alluding to his ability to miss bats with regularity.

But his command, specifically with his four-seam fastball, leaves room for improvement. Sims has issued 20 free passes, good for 13% walk rate that places him in the bottom five percentile.

This is not his first time being dealt at the trade deadline.

Sims was drafted by his hometown Atlanta Braves in the first round of the 2012 draft after starring at Brookwood High School in Snellville, Georgia. He signed for $1.65 million. He was traded 363 days after his MLB debut, which he made on Aug. 1, 2017.

Sims was a part of the package that sent slugger Adam Duvall to the Braves on July 30, 2018 — six years to the day before being shipped up to Boston.

Sims will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. He is making $2.85 million after arbitration.