Red Sox sign another pitcher to minor league deal

The Boston Red Sox added right-handed pitcher José De León on Tuesday night, signing him to a minor league deal, as reported by Francys Romero.

The 32-year-old De León has played six seasons in the majors since his debut in 2016, but he has not pitched in the big leagues since 2023, when he was with the Minnesota Twins. He missed the entire 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery.

Sometimes after Tommy John, pitchers are slow to regain full strength when they return, so it's yet to be seen how well De León will perform even at the minor league level. But, one can expect he likely will not be with Boston in short order.

Even disregarding the surgery, his career major-league numbers are not incredibly impressive. He has only played in 34 career major league games and has a 7.44 ERA. That being said, prior to surgery in 2023, he had one of his strongest seasons, pitching 12 games with a 4.67 ERA, but Tommy John may obviously impact his play going forward.

So, one could confidently argue that the signing of De León stands as another pitcher who will participate in spring training. However, at the end of the day, he will likely spend the bulk, if not all, of the baseball season in the minors.

Luke Graham is a digital sports content co-op for 98.5 the Sports Hub. He is currently a sophomore at Northeastern University studying communications and media studies. Read all his articles here, and follow him on X @LukeGraham05.