What Returned Red Sox Pitching Prospect Hopes To Prove Again

WORCESTER, Mass. — Pitching depth is suddenly a strength in the Boston Red Sox system around the MLB level and with Triple-A Worcester.

Another left-hander could become a part of that cluster within the organization in 2025. Shane Drohan came to Boston as a fifth-round draft pick in 2020. He changed his “sox” last season after the Chicago White Sox selected him in the Rule 5 Draft. The time outside the Boston organization allowed the lefty to dissect his craft.

“Each year, you’re constantly learning stuff about yourself,” Drohan told NESN.com at Polar Park. “Certain things that you might add to your routine or take away. For me, I’ve been learning to be really efficient with that stuff. I had been doing a little too much.”

Drohan noted that working to get built up as a reliever after shoulder surgery with the White Sox helped condense preparation routine as a starter. He hopes to continue that upon his return to the Red Sox organization after Chicago designated him for assignment during the franchise’s historically bad 2024 campaign.

Drohan returns the Red Sox with a new pitching development program led by pitching coach Andrew Bailey, director of pitching Justin Willard and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.

“It’s been awesome,” Drohan said. “They’re always there to help you. There’s a really big database that they have on us. Everything is tracked. I think that’s cool, especially through the speedbumps of the season.”

Drohan believes that database will be essential for midseason adjustments. He returned to focus with a solid outing in Mexico when the Red Sox played a pair of exhibition games in Monterrey last week.

“Mexico was awesome,” Drohan recalled. “It was a great experience. The fans there were awesome.”

Drohan had legitimate success previously in the Red Sox system. He posted a 1.32 ERA in six starts at Double-A Portland to start the 2023 season. Now, the left-hander hopes to reintroduce himself in the system with growth on the mound.

“I’m just excited to show them what I can do fully healthy,” Drohan said. “The past two years, the shoulder was kind of hovering at 50% strength-wise. Now after the surgery last year with the muscles having time to grow back, it’s fully healthy. I’m excited to show them what I can truly do.”