Tag: minor league deal

Red Sox’ Jorge Alfaro not yet at camp due to visa issues

Jorge Alfaro has yet to report to Red Sox camp in Fort Myers. The veteran catcher is currently dealing with visa issues, manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) on Friday.

Alfaro was signed to a minor-league contract last month. The deal came with an invite to spring training as well as a $2 million salary if the 29-year-old backstop cracks Boston’s big-league roster this season.

“He’s not here yet,” Cora said at JetBlue Park. “But we found a few things defensively that we can help him to get better. He has a cannon and obviously, he’s a good athlete. He hits the ball hard.”

Last season with the Padres, Alfaro batted .246/.285/.383 with 14 doubles, seven home runs, 40 RBIs, 25 runs scored, one stolen base, 11 walks, and 98 strikeouts over 274 plate appearances. The right-handed hitter also averaged 89.4 mph on the balls he put in play while ranking in the 97th percentile of all major-leaguers in max exit velocity (115.2 mph), per Baseball Savant.

Alfaro spent his winter in the Dominican Republic playing for the Tigres del Licey. He appeared in just six regular season LIDOM games for Licey but turned it up a notch afterwards by posting a 1.105 OPS in the round-robin portion of the playoffs and hitting .421 (8-for-19) with two home runs in the championship series that he was named MVP of.

“He had a great winter down there in the Dominican Republic,” said Cora. “Just hoping that he gets here.”

Alfaro is now slated to play for his native Colombia in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. As such, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound backstop will have a limited amount of time to work with Jason Varitek and other members of the Red Sox coaching staff before Opening Day arrives next month.

“He’s going to the tournament, too,” Cora said in reference to the WBC. “It’s kind of like a small window for him to work with Jason, which is very important. But he should be OK.”

Once he does arrive at the Fenway South complex, Alfaro figures to compete with Connor Wong — who also hits from the right side of the plate — for a spot on Boston’s Opening Day roster as the No. 2 catcher behind the left-handed hitting Reese McGuire. For what it’s worth, Alfaro and McGuire are both out of minor-league options while Wong has one remaining.

If Alfaro fails to break camp with the Red Sox and accepts his assignment to Triple-A Worcester, he will have the ability to opt out of his deal and return to free agency if he is not called up by June 1 or July 1 at the latest.

(Picture of Jorge Alfaro: Denis Poroy/Getty Images)

Red Sox sign left-hander Cam Booser to minor-league deal

The Red Sox have signed free agent left-hander Cam Booser to a minor-league contract, per the club’s transactions log on MLB.com.

Booser, 30, spent the first half of the 2022 season in the Diamondbacks organization after signing a minors pact with Arizona last February. The lefty posted a 6.48 ERA and 6.60 FIP with 30 strikeouts to 22 walks in 19 relief appearances (25 innings) for Double-A Amarillo before being released by the Sod Poodles in July.

Less than a month after getting cut loose by the Diamondbacks, Booser latched on with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the independent Atlantic League. He appeared in 13 games for Lancaster down the stretch and pitched to a 4.63 ERA with 15 strikeouts to six walks over 11 2/3 innings of work.

A native of the Seattle-area, Booser has had an interesting journey in professional baseball. He originally attended the esteemed Oregon State University, but he underwent Tommy John surgery after his freshman year and missed the entirety of his sophomore season as a result.

After transferring to Central Arizona College as a junior, Booser was passed over in the 2013 amateur draft. He then signed with the Twins as an undrafted free agent and made his pro debut in the Gulf Coast League that August. Booser did not graduate past the rookie-ball level until the onset of the 2015 campaign.

In 32 appearances for Class-A Cedar Rapids that year, Booser forged a 3.72 ERA and 3.57 xFIP to go along with 64 strikeouts to 40 walks across 46 2/3 innings of relief. He was named a Midwest League All-Star for his efforts, but that success did not carry over into 2016. Booser instead struggled to an 8.53 ERA (6.24 FIP) in 21 total outings (25 1/3 innings) between Cedar Rapids and High-A Fort Myers.

The following June, Booser was handed down a 50-game suspension for testing positive for a drug of abuse for the second time (he was previously suspended for testing positive for marijuana in 2015). Over the course of the 2017 season, Booser pitched in just three games. He elected to retire from baseball that November.

“I needed a break,” Booser told The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan back in April. “I needed, for my own mental side, to get away and figure out who I was off the field.”

And so Booser returned home to join a carpenters union. He worked construction around northwest Washington state and gave baseball lessons on the side.

In late 2020, Booser got the itch to pitch again and began throwing off a mound at a local facility. He started to work with current Mets pitching coordinator and former Driveline Baseball instructor Kyle Rogers before landing a contract with the Chicago Dogs of the independent American Association in July 2021.

Booser impressed with Chicago (1.93 ERA in 21 1/3 innings) and leveraged his performance there into a minor-league deal with the Diamondbacks as soon as he was officially released by the Twins last winter. During his time with Arizona’s Double-A affiliate, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound southpaw sat in the high-90s and topped out at 100 mph with his four-seam fastball. He also works with a low-90s cutter and mid-80s slider.

Booser, who turns 31 in May, has been assigned to Double-A Portland. He should provide Sea Dogs manager Chad Epperson with another left-handed relief option to complement the likes of Skylar Arias and Brendan Cellucci, among others.

(Picture of Cam Booser: John E. Moore III/Getty Images)

Former Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki signs minor-league deal with Pirates

Former Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki has signed a minor-league contract with the Pirates, the club announced on Sunday. The deal includes an invite to big-league spring training and a salary of $1.5 million if Plawecki makes it to the majors with Pittsburgh, per WEEI’s Rob Bradford.

Plawecki, who turns 32 later this month, spent the better part of the last three seasons with the Red Sox after originally signing with the club as a free agent in January 2020. He primarily served as Christian Vazquez’s backup before being somewhat surprisingly designated for assignment — and subsequently released — by Boston last September.

At that time, the Red Sox were already looking ahead to 2023 and wanted to get Connor Wong and the recently-acquired Reese McGuire as many reps as possible behind the plate. In order to accomplish that, they elected to move on from Plawecki, though that decision was not a popular one among other veterans in the clubhouse.

“It was very difficult,” Rich Hill told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. “Throughout the clubhouse, it was a tough one for everybody. What everybody sees out in the field and in the dugout… what you don’t realize is the humanity side of this game. We’re not just all numbers. We’re human beings. And removing a guy like that from the clubhouse is a big hit for a lot of guys. I would say everybody in here.”

After batting just .217/.287/.287 with one home run and 12 RBIs in 60 games (175 plate appearances) with the Red Sox last year, Plawecki latched on with the Rangers and appeared in three games for the club before the 2022 campaign came to a close. Between Boston and Texas, he threw out just five of 51 possible base stealers.

In his three seasons with the Red Sox from 2020-2022, Plawecki slashed .270/.333/.364 with 20 doubles, one triple, five homers, 44 runs driven in, 107 runs scored, one stolen base, 31 walks, and 68 strikeouts over 148 total games (437 plate appearances). The right-handed hitter also gained notoriety for his role in Boston’s laundry cart home run celebration and his walk-up song (Calum Scott’s remix of “Dancing On My Own”), which ultimately served as the club’s anthem during their run to the American League Championship Series in 2021.

By signing with the Pirates, Plawecki will presumably be competing for a spot on Pittsburgh’s bench behind the likes of Austin Hedges and prospect Endy Rodriguez, who are currently the only two backstops on the club’s 40-man roster. The Bucs will also have fellow catchers Carter Bins, Henry Davis, Jason Delay, and Tyler Heineman in camp as non-roster invitees.

Plawecki becomes the second member of the 2022 Red Sox to join the Pirates organization this offseason, as Hill previously inked a one-year, $8 million deal with Pittsburgh back in December.

(Picture of Kevin Plawecki: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Former Red Sox lefty Kyle Hart agrees to minor-league deal with Phillies

Former Red Sox left-hander Kyle Hart has agreed to terms on a minor-league contract with the Phillies, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. It is unclear if the deal comes with an invite to major-league spring training.

Hart, 30, was originally selected by Boston in the 19th round of the 2016 amateur draft out of Indiana University Bloomington. As an unheralded senior, the Ohio native signed with the club for a modest $5,000 and made his professional debut in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League that summer.

After working his way up the minor-league ladder in 2017 and 2018, Hart put together an impressive 2019 campaign in which he posted a 3.52 ERA with 140 strikeouts to 53 walks in 27 outings (24 starts) spanning 156 innings of work between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket. That November, the Red Sox added the southpaw to their 40-man roster in order to prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft.

Hart entered the COVID-shortened 2020 season ranked by Baseball America as the No. 29 prospect in Boston’s farm system. He made his major-league debut that August, but struggled to a 15.55 ERA (19 earned runs in 11 innings) across four appearances (three starts) and was outrighted off the Sox’ 40-man roster in the fall of that year.

Since then, Hart has spent the last two seasons pitching in the minors. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound hurler forged a 4.22 ERA with Worcester in 2021 and followed that up by producing a 5.25 ERA with 74 strikeouts to 33 walks in 82 1/3 innings between the WooSox and Sea Dogs last year before reaching minor-league free agency for the first time.

In agreeing to a minors pact with Philadelphia, Hart will be joining just the second organization of his professional career. With that being said, it should be mentioned that Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was at the helm in Boston when Hart was drafted by the Red Sox in 2016.

(Picture of Kyle Hart: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Rumored Red Sox target Roberto Pérez signs minor-league deal with Giants

Free agent catcher Roberto Perez has signed a minor-league contract with the Giants, the club announced Saturday. Perez will be at major-league spring training and will have the chance to earn $2.5 million with another $1.5 million available in incentives if he makes San Francisco’s active roster.

As was first reported by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, the Giants agreed to a deal with Perez last Sunday. The Red Sox made an aggressive bid for Perez, per Cotillo, and were even in consideration at the end, but the veteran backstop ultimately thought San Francisco represented a better fit.

Perez, a veteran of nine major-league seasons, was limited to just 21 games with the Pirates last year due to a right hamstring injury that ultimately required season-ending surgery in May. The right-handed hitter batted  .233/.333/.367 with two home runs and eight RBIs across 69 plate appearances before his one-year contract with Pittsburgh expired in November.

While offense has never been Perez’s strong suit, he is still regarded as one of the top defensive catchers in baseball. During an eight-year (2014-2021) run in Cleveland, the native Puerto Rican was named the Wilson Overall Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 and won back-to-back Gold Glove Awards in 2019 and 2020.

To counter a lackluster career OPS of .658, Perez Perez has thrown out 97 of 248 potential base stealers in his big-league career. The 5-foot-11, 220-pounder has accrued 79 Defensive Runs Saved in 4,052 1/3 innings behind the plate. He has also been among the game’s top pitch framers since Statcast first began tracking that data in 2015.

The Giants, at present, have just one catcher on their 40-man roster in Joey Bart. They also acquired versatile catching prospect Blake Sabol from the Reds in December’s Rule 5 Draft and have Austin Wynns slated to compete for a roster spot in spring training.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, have two catchers — Reese McGuire and Connor Wong — on their 40-man roster. They also have Caleb Hamilton and Ronaldo Hernandez, who were both outrighted earlier this winter, and minor-league signee Jorge Alfaro set to join them at big-league camp in Fort Myers later this month.

In all likelihood, Perez likely viewed his chances of making San Francisco’s Opening Day roster out of spring training more favorably, which is why he elected to sign a minors pact with the Giants over the Red Sox. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom addressed this very topic and the potential catching competition as a whole when speaking with Cotillo on The Fenway Rundown podcast last week.

“[Perez] saw a better opportunity out there and that’s OK,” Bloom said. “We’ve been talking about this all along. The two guys that finished the season for us in the big-leagues (McGuire and Wong), we really like. At the same time, we recognize that neither of them have carried this load at the major-league level before. They both have things to prove and experience they don’t have under their belts, so it made sense to add someone who’s decisively a frontline catcher or someone who can create competition in that mix.

“Alfaro’s really intriguing,” added Bloom. “Always has been in terms of what he brings to the table. Just having some of the loudest tools and the best physical ability. Somebody we feel we can help. [Jason Varitek] got pretty excited about the possibility of working with someone who has that kind of ability and creating some competition there.

“So, we’ll see how it goes,” he said. “Again, these other two guys have had a bit of a head start in working with our pitchers, working with our staff, and really understanding what we expect on a daily basis. And that means something. But, we wouldn’t have brought Alfaro in without wanting to see what he could do and seeing where this goes.”

(Picture of Roberto Perez: Justin Berl/Getty Images)

Red Sox agree to minor-league deal with right-hander Jake Faria

The Red Sox have agreed to terms on a minor-league contract with free agent right-hander Jake Faria, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. The deal comes with an invite to major-league spring training and a salary of $735,000 if Faria makes Boston’s active roster.

Faria, 29, spent part of the 2022 season in the Twins organization. The righty posted a 7.48 ERA and 6.55 FIP with 39 strikeouts to 27 walks in 12 appearances (nine starts) spanning 43 1/3 innings of work for Triple-A St. Paul before getting released by the Saints in late June.

A native of California, Faria was originally selected by the Rays in the 10th round of the 2011 amateur draft out of Richard Gahr High School. At that time, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom worked in Tampa Bay’s front office, so there is a connection there.

Faria was considered to be one of the top pitching prospects in the Rays’ farm system prior to making his big-league debut at the age of 23 in June 2017. He produced a 3.43 ERA in 16 outings (14 starts) as a rookie, but has not been able to replicate that same kind of success since then.

After pitching to a 6.75 ERA in 2018, Faria appeared to bounce back by putting up solid numbers (2.75 ERA) out of the Rays bullpen to begin the 2019 campaign. He was then traded to the Brewers that July in exchange for veteran slugger Jesus Aguilar.

Faria’s stint in Milwaukee proved to be a short one. He got shelled for 11 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings of relief (11.42 ERA) to close out the 2019 season and — after being outrighted off their 40-man roster — was released by the Brewers the following September.

Two months later, Faria signed a minors pact with the Angels. He started out the 2021 season with Los Angeles’ Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake City but was cut loose by the club that June, only to be scooped up the Diamondbacks shortly thereafter.

Faria made his return to the big-league mound on June 19 and put up a 5.51 ERA (4.58 FIP) with 32 strikeouts to 13 walks in 23 appearances (three starts, 32 2/3 innings) for Arizona. He was designated for assignment exactly five months after making his Diamondbacks debut and elected to become a free agent after clearing waivers.

So, all told, Faria owns a lifetime 4.70 ERA (4.74 FIP) to go along with 185 strikeouts to 89 walks in 72 career major-league outings (29 starts, 203 innings) between the Rays, Brewers, and Diamondbacks. At the Triple-A level, he owns a career 4.49 ERA with 343 punchouts to 140 walks over 303 cumulative frames.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Faria operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a four-seam fastball, a splitter, a curveball, and a slider, per Baseball Savant. It remains to be seen if the Red Sox envision Faria as a starter or reliever moving forward, but he will nonetheless have a chance to compete for a spot on the club’s Opening Day roster beginning later this month.

At the very least, Faria — who turns 30 in July — should provide Boston with some multi-inning, swingman-like depth at Triple-A Worcester this season. He becomes the 22nd player the Red Sox have extended a spring training invite to, joining fellow free agent additions like Matt Dermody, Norwith Gudino, and Ryan Sherriff.

(Picture of Jake Faria: Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images)

Red Sox ‘in talks’ with Gold Glove-winning catcher Roberto Pérez, per report

The Red Sox are in talks with free agent catcher Roberto Perez, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

Perez, 34, was limited to just 21 games with the Pirates last year after suffering a season-ending left hamstring injury in May that ultimately required surgery. The right-handed hitter batted .233/.333/.367 with two home runs and eight RBIs across 69 plate appearances before getting injured.

Prior to signing a one-year contract with Pittsburgh last winter, Perez spent the first eight years of his major-league career in Cleveland, where he established himself as one of the top defensive catchers in baseball by being named the Wilson Overall Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 and winning back-to-back Gold Glove Awards in 2019 and 2020.

Offensive has never been Perez’s strong suit, as the native Puerto Rican is a lifetime .207/.298/.360 hitter with 57 doubles, four triples, 55 home runs, 192 RBIs, 165 runs scored, two stolen bases, 190 walks, and 521 strikeouts in 511 games (1,752 plate appearances). He did, however, enjoy a career year in 2019 by clubbing 24 homers in 119 games with Cleveland.

Digging deeper into the defensive numbers, Perez has thrown out 97 of 248 potential base stealers in his career. The 5-foot-11, 220-pounder has accrued 79 Defensive Runs Saved in 4,052 1/3 innings behind the plate. He has also been among the game’s top pitch framers since Statcast first began tracking that data in 2015.

Injuries have limited Perez to just 65 games over the last two years, so there may be some questions surrounding his durability. That being said, Perez did appear in 10 games for the Indios de Mayaguez of the Puerto Rican Winter League earlier this winter, so he appears to be healthy heading into the spring.

Since the start of spring training is now less than a month away, Perez will likely have to settle for a minor-league deal. The Red Sox are not alone in their pursuit of Perez, either, as Cotillo reports that the veteran is “believed to have other suitors” on the open market.

As currently constructed, Reese McGuire and Connor Wong are the only two catchers on Boston’s 40-man roster. Jorge Alfaro, who was signed to a minors pact earlier this month, is expected to compete with Wong for a spot on the Sox’ Opening Day roster as the club’s No. 2 catcher. Caleb Hamilton and Ronaldo Hernandez, who were both outrighted off the 40-man roster, will also be at big-league camp as non-roster invites.

(Picture of Roberto Perez: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Red Sox sign left-hander Skylar Arias to minor-league deal

The Red Sox have signed free agent left-hander Skylar Arias to a minor-league contract for the 2023 season, per the club’s transactions log. Arias has been assigned to Double-A Portland.

Arias, 25, was originally selected by Cleveland in the 24th round of the 2016 amateur draft out of Tallahassee Community College. The Florida native spent parts of seven seasons in the Guardians organization before being released last June.

Shortly after being cut loose by the Guardians, Arias signed a minors pact with the White Sox. The 6-foot-3, 204-pound southpaw pitched across three different levels in 2022, though 24 of his 26 relief appearances were for Chicago’s High-A affiliate in Winston-Salem, N.C. He posted a 3.91 ERA and 3.88 FIP with 37 strikeouts to 17 walks over 23 innings of work for the Dash before becoming a free agent again in November.

Among the 238 pitchers who accrued at least 20 innings in the South Atlantic League last year, Arias ranked 11th in strikeouts per nine innings (14.48), 20th in strikeout rate (35.6 percent), and 18th in batting average against (.171), per FanGraphs. He also walked more than 16 percent of the batters he faced.

Arias, who turns 26 in June, has some experience above the High-A level. He made one appearance for Double-A Birmingham last August, allowing three runs (two earned) in a third of an inning. In 2021, the lefty forged a 6.92 ERA and 5.01 FIP with 53 strikeouts to 35 walks across 36 outings spanning 40 1/3 frames of relief for Double-A Akron.

According to a Baseball America scouting report from December 2021, Arias “deploys a trio of pitches in his low-90s fastball, low-80s slider and low-to-mid-80s changeup. He has an unusual four-seam fastball that’s heavy with side spin, but lacks hop, moving almost like a sinker from a flat vertical approach angle. This allows the pitch to play above his below-average velocity.

“His slider is far and away his go-to swing-and-miss offering, with a whiff rate above 50 percent despite accounting for a quarter of his usage,” it continues. “From a shape perspective his changeup may be his most intriguing pitch. It sits 82 mph with average velocity separation from his fastball. He does an excellent job of killing the lift on the pitch, which gives it plenty of tumble. It also has hellacious run.”

Arias becomes the latest left-hander the Red Sox have signed to a minor-league deal in recent weeks, joining the likes of Matt Dermody and Ryan Sherriff. Unlike Dermody and Sherriff, however, it does not appear as though Arias will receive an invite to major-league spring training.

(Picture of Fenway Park: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Red Sox sign left-hander Matt Dermody to minor-league deal

The Red Sox have signed free agent left-hander Matt Dermody to a minor-league contract for the 2023 season, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. The deal includes an invite to major-league spring training.

Dermody, 32, was originally selected by the Blue Jays in the 28th round of the 2013 amateur draft out of the University of Iowa. The former Hawkeye first broke in with Toronto in September 2016 and allowed four earned runs in five appearances (three innings) out of the bullpen.

In 23 relief outings the following year, Dermody pitched to a 4.43 ERA and 6.25 FIP with 15 strikeouts to 15 walks over 22 1/3 innings of work. He was outrighted off the Jays’ 40-man roster ahead of the 2018 campaign and spent the next two seasons with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo before electing free agency in November 2019.

While there was no Minor League Baseball in 2020 on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dermody did pitch for the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Constellation Energy League in Texas. He then had his contract purchased by the Cubs that August and made his return to the big-league return the following Month.

After just one outing with the Cubs, though, Dermody was designated for assignment and subsequently outrighted. He returned to Chicago on a minors pact that winter but was let go before the start of spring training. Dermody then took his talents to Japan and spent the 2021 season with the Saitama Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Dermody leveraged his performance in Japan into another minor-league deal with the Cubs last February. The lefty posted a 3.74 ERA with 70 strikeouts to 18 walks in 20 appearances (13 starts) spanning 79 1/3 innings pitched for Triple-A Iowa before getting called up in early August. He appeared in one game for Chicago before being granted his release so that he could sign with the NC Dinos of the Korean Baseball Organization.

In eight starts for the Dinos, Dermody forged a 4.54 ERA and 3.92 FIP to go along with 37 strikeouts to 13 walks across 39 2/3 innings. Rather than pursuing other opportunities in South Korea, Dermody has apparently decided to return to affiliated ball in the United States.

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 190 pounds, Dermody possesses a diverse pitch mix. In his lone outing for the Cubs against the Cardinals last summer, the southpaw threw seven four-seam fastballs, seven sliders, six changeups, four sinkers, and two curveballs. He averaged 92.4 mph with his four-seamer and induced three total swings-and-misses, per Baseball Savant.

Dermody, who turns 33 in July, has two minor-league options remaining and can provide the Red Sox with some flexibility in that respect if he makes the team out of spring training. That being said, it remains to be seen if Boston views Dermody as a starter or as a reliever moving forward.

After trading Josh Taylor to the Royals for infielder Adalberto Mondesi earlier Tuesday, the Red Sox currently only have one left-handed reliever with past major-league experience on their 40-man roster in Joely Rodriguez. Beyond that, Boston signed left-hander Ryan Sherriff to a minor-league deal over the weekend that comes with an invite to big-league spring training. Fellow southpaw and non-roster invitee Oddanier Mosqueda is also expected to be in the mix for a bullpen spot once camp begins next month.

(Picture of Matt Dermody: Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)

Red Sox agree to minor-league deal with left-hander Ryan Sherriff

It appears as though the Red Sox have agreed to terms on a minor-league contract for the 2023 season with Ryan Sherriff, according to the free agent left-hander’s Twitter account.

“Glad to be a part of the [Red Sox organization]!” Sherriff tweeted on Saturday. “Let’s get it.”

Sherriff, 32, is a veteran of four major-league seasons who last appeared in a big-league contest with the Rays in September 2021. The lefty owns a lifetime 3.65 ERA and 3.98 FIP in 44 career relief appearances (44 1/3 innings) between St. Louis and Tampa Bay dating back to the 2017 campaign.

A native of southern California, Sherriff was originally selected by the Cardinals in the 28th round of the 2011 amateur draft out of West Los Angeles College. He first broke in with St. Louis in August 2017 and pitched to a 3.14 ERA (3.93 FIP) across 13 outings spanning 14 1/3 innings of relief.

After making five additional appearances for the Cardinals in 2018, Sherriff suffered an elbow injury that ultimately required him to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery. He was released by St. Louis shortly thereafter, but he quickly bounced back by signing a minor-league deal with the Rays that November.

Sherriff was limited to just seven innings of rehab work in 2019. He remained with the Rays through the winter and, after spending the first half of the COVID-shortened 2020 season at the club’s alternate training site, made his return to the big-league mound that summer.

In 10 appearances for Tampa Bay down the stretch, Sherriff did not allow a single run while walking two and striking out two over 9 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. He then tossed two more scoreless frames against the Dodgers in the 2020 World Series.

While Sherriff found success in limited action in 2020, the same cannot be said for 2021. He forged a 5.52 ERA — but a much more respectable 3.65 FIP — with 16 strikeouts to nine walks in 16 outings (14 2/3 innings) for the Rays before being designated for assignment at the end of the season.

The Phillies subsequently claimed Sherriff off waivers, but he did not appear in a game for Philadelphia last year and was instead limited to just 14 outings in the minors before being shut down with a shoulder strain in late July. He lost his spot on the club’s 40-man roster in August and spent the rest of the season on the minor-league injured list after being outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, Sherriff is a three-pitch pitcher who primarily operates with a sinker, a slider, and a changeup. While he does not strike out a ton of hitters (18.7 percent career strikeout rate) or light up the radar gun (averaged 92 mph with his sinker in 2021), Sherriff has proven to be capable of inducing weak contact, as evidenced by his career 56.7 percent groundball rate.

Sherriff, who turns 33 in May, should get a chance to compete for a spot in Boston’s Opening Day bullpen if he is back at full strength once spring training begins next month. As currently constructed, the Red Sox only have two left-handed relievers on their 40-man roster in Joely Rodriguez and Josh Taylor, so Sherriff could prove to be an impactful addition since he still has two minor-league options remaining.

And even if Sherriff does not make the Sox’ Opening Day roster out of spring training, he should still be able to provide the club with experienced bullpen depth at Triple-A Worcester. For his career at the Triple-A level, the southpaw owns a 3.11 ERA with 152 strikeouts to 11 walks over 152 appearances (two starts) spanning 170 2/3 innings of work. That includes a 3.18 ERA in 11 outings (11 1/3 innings) for Lehigh Valley in 2022.

(Picture of Ryan Sherriff: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)