Red Sox Reportedly Take Chance On Ex-Rays Hurler With Minor League Contract
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The Boston Red Sox reportedly added more pitching depth Saturday afternoon.
Boston reportedly signed former Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, and Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jake Faria to a minor league contract, according to MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo.
Faria was drafted by the Rays in the 10th round of the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft and after working his way up organization made his big league debut in 2017. The 29-year-old remained with the squad until he was traded ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline in 2019 to the Brewers. The right-hander didn't pitch at the big league level in 2020, but returned with the Diamondbacks in 2021 mainly as a relief pitcher and compiled a 5.51 ERA across 23 appearances.
The former Ray likely won't have a major impact on the Red Sox, but does have some upside. Faria is only 29 years old and has shown flashes of talent at the big league level. He likely will be more of a minor league piece for Boston but he does have a familiarity with Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom so that may help.
If he's able to find his form in the minors, maybe at some point in 2023 he could be a bullpen depth piece for the Red Sox. Boston had one of the worst bullpens in all of baseball in 2022 and although it has made additions and likely will be significantly better in 2023, it doesn't hurt to have as many depth pieces as possible with MLB experience.
Boston's signing of Faria doesn't catapult the team into being World Series contenders by any stretch of the imagination, but it could help the squad out in the long run at some point. Faria is a low risk candidate for the Red Sox with high upside potential. If he's able to regain his form, he could be an intriguing back-of-the-rotation arm. If Faria isn't able to shine in the minors, it won't hurt the Red Sox. There's no loss for the Red Sox.
Faria has shown he can pitch at a big league level, hopefully he can do so in Boston.
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