The Red Sox added some minor league bullpen depth ahead of Saturday’s game, claiming right-hander Alex Speas off waivers from the Houston Astros and optioning him to Triple-A Worcester.

Originally a second-round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, Speas has appeared in four big league games in his career between 2023-24 and allowed four earned runs over four innings. Recently he’s primarily pitched at Triple-A and lately has bounced around a lot, as the Red Sox will be his fourth organization this season alone.

Overall Speas has posted a 10.38 ERA over 21.2 innings at Triple-A this season, most recently posting an 8.00 ERA in 10 appearances with Houston’s Triple-A affiliate.

Extra innings

Triston Casas (torn cartilage in ribcage) had Saturday off from his rehab work but recently got up to 30 practice swings at a time. Cora said he’s continuing to make progress but likely won’t be activated until after the All-Star break. … Bryan Mata (right hamstring strain) will make his next rehab start on Tuesday. Cora said they plan to keep using him as a starter but no more than three innings at a time, and also that the staff was pleased with his stuff, noting his fastball was up to 97-98 mph. … Vaughn Grissom (right hamstring strain) is moving well but still no plans to start a rehab assignment.