Red Sox Add Minor League Pitchers, Inman & Thomas

The two most recent names that the Red Sox signed to minor league deals aren’t necessarily names that will make an impact on the 2012 version of the Red Sox pitching staff.  But adding two arms is at least a step in the right direction to improving the long-term solution.

Both Will Inman and Justin Thomas were signed as minor league free agents by the Red Sox organization and both will get an invitation to spring training, where it’ll be up to them to prove they belong on the big club.

Inman, a right-handed pitcher, comes over from the San Diego Padres organization, having spent last season in AAA Tucson, a part of the Pacific Coast League.  It was there he worked 117 innings, going 5-11 while producing an ERA of 6.50.  He walked 57 batters and struck out 120. As Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal admits, that particular league is a hitter-friendly league, so don’t read too much into the alarmingly high ERA of Inman’s.

In 2010 with the Padres affiliate then in Portland, Inman went 2-4 in eleven starts over 62.1 innings.  He compiled an ERA of 3.61 complimented by 52 strikeouts and 27 free passes.

Inman brings a lot of promise and praise from the baseball world, despite a lopsided record and John Lackey type ERA. The most promising statistic is his strikeout ratio, averaging over 9 K’s per 9 innings last season.

Meanwhile, lefty Justin Thomas is a product of the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system.  Last season he saw action in twelve games with the big club, all in relief appearances, going 0-1 with an ERA of 6.23.

For his career in the minors, Thomas has an ERA of 3.67 in over 200 innings of duty.

For all the latest news and analysis from BoSox Injection, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or with our RSS feed