Report: Red Sox sign ex-Royals reliever to minor-league deal

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We'd call it more of a ripple than a splash, but the Boston Red Sox are making moves to address their lack of pitching.

The Red Sox have signed veteran relief pitcher Kevin McCarthy to a minor-league contract worth $825,000 if he makes Boston's big-league roster, USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale reported Thursday.

McCarthy has spent his entire professional career with the Royals, who drafted him out of Marist College in 2013. He made his major league debut in 2016 and compiled a 3.80 ERA over five seasons in Kansas City as a reliever with a 1.41 WHIP and a 1.97 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

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The right-hander's best season came in 2018, when he posted a 3.25 ERA over a career-high 72 innings pitched. He pitched just six innings during the shortened 2020 season, allowing three earned runs with two strikeouts.

The Red Sox' bullpen is still in flux as Chaim Bloom aims to improve a staff that allowed the second-most earned runs in baseball in 2020. Expect McCarthy to be among the non-roster invitees competing for a role in that bullpen at training camp next spring.

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