Michael Kopech placed on IL, undergoes knee surgery

Kopech last pitched in a one-inning relief appearance on September 20, where he gave up one unearned run and struck out one. After a less-than-stellar season in the rotation for most of the season, Kopech’s innings had been limited after a move to the bullpen to begin the month of September. Since that move, Kopech had been working to find his rhythm, as he held a 13.50 ERA in that timespan despite striking out seven batters in 5.1 innings.

Taking Kopech’s spot on the roster is Yohan Ramirez, who the Sox recalled from Triple-A Charlotte. The Sox claimed Ramirez from the Pirates earlier this month, where he pitched 34.1 innings in relief and held a 3.67 ERA. He has bounced around the league quite a bit in his career, originally coming up in the Astros system before making his MLB debut in 2020 with the Mariners. From there, he spent time in the Guardians minor league system before joining the pirates. In 120 career major league innings, Ramirez has a 3.83 ERA, although his fielder-independent metrics show that luck has been on his side for much of that success.