Baseball's offseason is trudging along slowly. Instead of a free agent feeding frenzy, signings are trickling along nibble by nibble.
But amid all the waiting, the Red Sox were able to bolster their pitching depth Wednesday, agreeing to terms with veteran Matt Andriese on a one-year deal with a club option for the 2022 season. According to MLB Network's Jon Heyman, the 31-year-old gets a $2.1 million guarantee from the Sox.
Boston is hoping Andriese can build on a strong finish to the 2020 campaign, when he had a 1.46 ERA over his eight September appearances for the Angels, holding opponents to a .075 average (3-for-40) with no walks and 13 strikeouts in 12.1 innings pitched.
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Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom is acquainted with Andriese, who pitched for the Rays from 2015-2018 before moving on to the Diamondbacks and Angels. The righty was predominantly a starter early in his career, but has shifted to the bullpen in recent seasons, with only six starts over 111 appearances over the last three seasons. Overall, he has a 26-34 record and 4.57 ERA in six MLB seasons.
Where he slots into the Red Sox pitching staff remains to be seen, but the team needs help in both the rotation, where their 5.34 ERA ranked 25th in the majors a season ago, and the bullpen, which was even worse thanks to a 5.79 ERA.
Signing with the Sox also represents a return to Massachusetts for Andriese, who pitched for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League back in 2010.