Red Sox Predicted To Sign 11-Year Veteran Pitcher Before Opening Day

The Boston Red Sox have been busy this offseason, and their roster is starting to shape out before opening day.

The pitching staff will be something to monitor in spring training. The back of the bullpen seems to be set with Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman set to handle the eighth and ninth innings. However, the Red Sox could use another southpaw in the bullpen.

MassLive’s Chris Cotillo predicted the Red Sox would sign Danny Coulombe to bolster their bullpen.

Coulombe had a 2.30 ERA in 55 games last season, spending time with the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers. He did not pitch well in 15 games with the Rangers, but he had a 1.16 ERA in 40 games with the Twins.

He is going into his 12th season and has a 3.35 career ERA. He has pitched in 335 regular-season games and could be a great addition to the Red Sox bullpen. He does not have crazy velocity on his fastball, but he gets plenty of chase.

He had a 36.2% chase rate last season. He relies on his cutter and gets above-average horizontal break on the pitch. Hitters hit just .200 against his cutter last season.

Outside of pitching, there are very few questions for the Red Sox to answer before opening day. Who is playing third base and who is playing second base needs to be determined, but the belief is that those players are already on the roster.

If someone is added to fill either spot, Marcelo Mayer figures to play the other position. Regardless of whether the Red Sox add a position player or not, adding a lefty in the bullpen may be a priority.

Coulombe would be a relatively inexpensive option who can produce. Since the start of 2022, he has a 2.38 ERA.