The Red Sox have agreed to terms on a minor league contract with outfielder Matt Fraizer, as was first reported by Chase Ford of MiLB Central. The deal, which Fraizer himself confirmed on Instagram, likely includes an invite to major league spring training.
Fraizer, who turns 28 later this month, has spent the entirety of his professional career to this point with the Pirates but has never played in the majors. The California native was originally selected by Pittsburgh in the third round (95th overall) of the 2019 draft out of the University of Arizona. He received a $525,000 signing bonus and emerged as an intriguing prospect on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Following a breakout 2021 season in which he batted .306/.388/.552 with 23 home runs and 68 RBIs in 112 games (499 plate appearances) between High-A and Double-A to earn minor league player of the year honors within the organization, Fraizer entered 2022 as Baseball America’s 12th-ranked Pirates prospect. From there, however, he stalled out in the upper levels of Pittsburgh’s system.
After first reaching Triple-A Indianapolis in 2024, Fraizer spent most of last year with the Pirates’ top affiliate. The left-handed hitter slashed .305/.361/.452 with 18 doubles, one triple, three home runs, 20 RBIs, 29 runs scored, 14 stolen bases, 19 walks, and 44 strikeouts in 62 games (220 plate appearances). He did not make his season debut until May 2 and ended the campaign on the injured list before electing free agency in November.
Defensively, Fraizer has plenty of experience at all three outfield positions. In 2025 alone, the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder made 23 starts in right field, 16 starts in left field, and 10 starts in center field, recording two assists and committing just one error in 112 total chances. He also made five starts at DH.
As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, the Red Sox have an exorbitant amount of outfield depth at the major league level, but were somewhat light in that area at Triple-A Worcester this winter following the departures of Jhostynxon Garcia (who was traded to the Pirates last month) and Trayce Thompson (who is a minor league free agent). To that end, Fraizer now figures to join the likes of Braiden Ward, Corey Rosier, and Phillip Sikes as outfielders not on the 40-man roster who could see significant playing time with the WooSox out of the gate in 2026.
(Picture of Matt Fraizer: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Blogging the Red Sox 