Report: Reliever Joel Zumaya Claims Red Sox Have Expressed Interest in Him

The Red Sox bullpen could use a fire-baller or two and very few people throw the ball harder than former Tiger reliever Joel Zumaya.

The five-year veteran righty told Jason Beck of MLB.com that the Sox have expressed interest in him “as soon as he became a free agent.” The Red Sox, however, have made no public comments regarding the setup man.

“Deep down inside, I know I can win a job anywhere,” Zumaya said. “I have to fight from the bottom now. I’m the type of guy that I know where my level of my game is, and [it’s] up there in the big leagues.”

The 27-year-old has a 13-12 career record to go with 210 strikeouts in 209 2/3 career innings.

“Zoom Zoom” was sidelined for all of 2011 but sported a 2.58 ERA in 31 games in 2010, striking out 34 batters in 38 1/3 innings. His season was cut short in late June after suffering an elbow injury while pitching against the Twins, which can be seen below.