Red Sox Tabbed to Acquire 11-Year Veteran Coming Off Great Season

Is the bullpen a finished product?

May 12, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A bag of baseballs sits on the diamond before a game against between the Boston Red Sox and the Washington Nationals at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

We've hardly given the Boston Red Sox's bullpen a second thought all winter, but it shouldn't be considered a finished product.

The Red Sox took care of some offseason business during the regular season when they extended nine-time All-Star Aroldis Chapman for his age-38 season. But beyond Chapman and Garrett Whitlock, the bullpen is a bit suspect, particularly when it comes to lefties in the middle-relief realm.

Having traded away Brennan Bernardino and Chris Murphy, plus the loss of Steven Matz to the Tampa Bay Rays in free agency, the Red Sox quickly went from too many lefties to not enough. Re-signing Justin Wilson remains an option, but one insider thinks Boston can do even better.

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Is Danny Coulombe a perfect fit for Boston?

Aug 24, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Danny Coulombe (54) pitches against the Cleveland Guardians during the eighth inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

On Wednesday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive did a Red Sox opening day roster projection, and one of his predictions was that Boston would sign free-agent lefty Danny Coulombe, who just had an excellent season for the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers.

"It remains clear that Craig Breslow wants to add a left-handed relief arm before Opening Day and there are a few still out there, including Coulombe, Cionel Pérez, Andrew Chafin, Brent Suter and others," wrote Cotillo.

"The Red Sox really like Morán, who is out of options, but probably need to add someone else to that mix and Coulombe seems like the safest option."

Coulombe, an 11-year veteran with 343 major league appearances under his belt, put up an impressive 2.30 ERA for the Twins and Rangers in 43 innings last year. His numbers tanked a bit after the trade at the end of July, but in such a small sample size, we're essentially talking about two bat outings.

Entering his age-36 campaign, Coulombe is likely unsigned because he's hoping to squeeze every last dollar he can out of his free agency sweepstakes. The Red Sox, who are over the second luxury tax threshold at the moment, may be waiting out the market in hopes of landing a bargain.

If that gap can be closed somehow, the Red Sox would be in a great spot with their projected bullpen. But, as we also learned last year, the depth chart can be flipped on its head from Game 1 at the end of March to Game 162.

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