Tag: cpbl

Red Sox sign local product Morgan McSweeney to minor league contract

The Red Sox signed free-agent right-hander Morgan McSweeney to a minor league contract on Wednesday. He struggled in his organizational debut for Double-A Portland, surrendering five earned runs on five hits (including one home run), no walks, and three strikeouts over two innings of relief.

McSweeney returns to affiliated ball after spending the first part of the 2026 season abroad in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. The 28-year-old made nine appearances (eight starts) for the Rakuten Monkeys, posting a 5.08 ERA with 21 strikeouts to 24 walks over 44 1/3 innings before being released in late June.

A Hudson, Mass. native and Worcester Academy product, McSweeney was originally selected by the Orioles in the 17th round (498th overall) of the 2019 draft out of Wake Forest. The righty received a $125,000 signing bonus and spent five-plus years in the organization without reaching the majors, instead peaking at Triple-A Norfolk before he was cut loose by Baltimore in July 2024.

McSweeney spent the next 11 months between Gastonia and Staten Island of the independent Atlantic League before his contract was purchased by the Marlins last June. From there, he pitched to a 2.21 ERA with 42 strikeouts to 23 walks across 13 appearances (12 starts) spanning 61 innings for Triple-A Jacksonville to close out his 2025 campaign. He elected free agency in November and signed with Rakuten in December.

Following Wednesday’s rough outing in Portland, McSweeney now owns a lifetime 3.77 ERA with 237 strikeouts to 123 walks over 151 career appearances (12 starts) and 241 1/3 innings in the minors. Stuff-wise, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound hurler features a lower-90s fastball that has reached 93 mph, a cutter, a slider, a changeup, a curveball, and a sinker.

McSweeney, who turns 29 next month, will presumably provide Boston with additional upper-minors pitching depth between Portland and Triple-A Worcester down the stretch this season. He is the third arm the Red Sox have brought in via minor-league contract in the last week, joining veteran righty John Brebbia and former Yankees farmhand Aaron Nixon.

(Picture of Morgan McSweeney: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

After rough 2020 season with Red Sox, Dylan Covey enjoyed success in Taiwan in 2021

Remember when Dylan Covey was one of 27 pitchers the Red Sox used during a dismal 2020 season that only consisted of 60 games?

A former fourth-round pick of the Oakland Athletics who broke in with the White Sox in 2017, Covey was effectively released by Chicago leading up to the 2020 season and inked a minor-league deal with the Rays shortly thereafter.

On the other side of the COVID-19-induced shutdown that placed a freeze on transactions across Major League Baseball, the Rays traded Covey to the Red Sox in late July.

The right-hander was initially optioned to Boston’s alternate training site, but wound up making the club’s Opening Day roster. He made his Red Sox debut against the Orioles on July 25 and was then sent back down to Pawtucket the following day.

On August 8, Covey was recalled from the alternate training site, paving the way for him to make three more appearances out of the Sox’ bullpen before getting optioned eight days later.

Fast forward nearly four weeks, and Covey’s name was called upon once again. He closed out the shortened campaign on Boston’s big-league roster and made four final relief appearances in the process of doing so.

All told, Covey posted a 7.07 ERA — yet a much more respectable 3.91 FIP — to go along with 11 strikeouts to just two walks over eight outings spanning 14 total innings of work in his three stints with the club.

Following the conclusion of the 2020 World Series, the Red Sox outrighted Covey off their 40-man roster, thus allowing the righty to become a free agent since he had already accrued more than three years of major-league service time.

It’s unclear if Covey — a client of CAA Sports — was pursuing big-league opportunities upon hitting the open market, but he ultimately inked a one-year deal with the Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League last May.

Equipped with a five-pitch mix that consists of a slider, four-seam fastball, sinker, changeup, and curveball, Covey debuted for Rakuten’s first-team in late August.

In 10 starts for the Monkeys, the 30-year-old put up a 4.01 ERA and 3.14 FIP with 38 strikeouts and 17 walks across 58 1/3 innings pitched. According to CPBLStats.com, he yielded a minuscule 0.84 ERA over his final five starts of the year.

Last month, it was revealed that Rakuten had re-signed Covey to a one-year contract for the upcoming 2022 season, which begins in April.

If Covey — who turns 31 in August — can put together another productive season in Taiwan, it would be fascinating to see if the 6-foot-1, 214 pound hurler could garner enough interest from MLB teams to ponder a return to the United States next winter.

(Picture of Dylan Covey: CPBL Stats)