After trading away most of their left-handers from last year’s bullpen over the offseason, the Red Sox came into the spring with only two lefty relievers on the roster behind closer Aroldis Chapman.
Thursday they finally brought in some reinforcements.
The Red Sox announced they have agreed to a one-year MLB deal with veteran left-hander Danny Coulombe. To clear space on the 40-man roster, the club placed infielder Romy Gonzalez on the 60-day injured list.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was first to report the news, and according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo the deal will be for $1 million.
Coulombe, 36, is entering his 12th season in the majors and is coming off a strong year in which he posted a 2.30 ERA over 43 innings in 55 appearances split between the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers. Prior to that he enjoyed a standout two-year run in Baltimore, posting a 2.56 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 81 innings between 2023-24.
The veteran will provide some badly needed stability for a Red Sox bullpen that remained one piece short.
Prior to Thursday’s signing the Red Sox only had eight traditional relievers on their 40-man roster, two of whom have yet to make their MLB debut. The back of Boston’s bullpen ranks among the best in the league with Chapman and Garrett Whitlock slated to pitch the final innings, and Justin Slaten, Greg Weissert and Zack Kelly should comprise a reliable core for the middle innings.
But other than Chapman, the only lefty with MLB experience on Boston’s roster is Jovani Moran, who only appeared in two MLB games last season and missed all of 2024 due to injury. Boston’s other relievers are right-hander Ryan Watson, a Rule 5 pick, and left-hander Tyler Samaniego, who was acquired alongside Johan Oviedo in the Jhostynxon Garcia trade but who has never pitched in the majors.
If one or both of Watson and Samaniego failed to make the Opening Day roster, Boston would have had to rely on one or more non-roster invitees to fill out their bullpen. Now the club has much more certainty, and barring any surprises the Red Sox offseason should be effectively complete.