The Boston Red Sox are reportedly signing former prospect Bryce Brentz to a minor-league deal that would return him to the organization that drafted him.
Outfielder Bryce Brentz is returning to the Boston Red Sox organization on a minor-league deal, reports WEEI’s Rob Bradford.
Once the signing is completed, Brentz will rejoin the organization that selected him in the first round of the 2010 draft. The 29-year old spent eight years in the Red Sox system, receiving brief call-ups to the big leagues in 2014 and 2016.
Brentz hit .289/.313/.377 with a home run and nine RBI in 87 career at-bats with the Red Sox. While he hasn’t shown it at the major league level, there’s some power potential in that bat of his. Brentz blasted 31 home runs with Triple-A Pawtucket in 2017.
The Red Sox traded Brentz to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash last winter in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for J.D. Martinez. The prized free agent slugger proved to be worth every cent of the lucrative contract he was given but the Martinez signing made Brentz the unfortunate causality of a numbers crunch.
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Pittsburgh ended up placing Brentz on waivers in March. He latched on with the New York Mets organization, hitting .263 with a .915 OPS, 16 home runs and 49 RBI over 57 games in their minor league system.
It’s a very limited sample size but Brentz has shown the ability to crush left-handed pitching. He’s hitting .327/.365/.449 with a home run in 49 career at-bats against lefties. Brentz could conceivably carve out a role off the bench with a team that has a few regulars in the lineup who struggle against southpaws.
This is the second outfielder that the Red Sox have signed to a minor league deal this winter, along with former San Francisco Giant, Goryks Hernandez. They will both receive an invitation to big league camp this spring but neither is a likely candidate to make the Opening Day roster. However, they offer depth at outfielder positions where the organization is thin outside of the options on their major league roster.
Boston didn’t end up needing Brentz in a season where their outfield remained relatively healthy. They essentially loaned him out for a year to make some quick cash and free up a roster spot. Now they can bring him back for cheap without having to add him to the 40-man roster. That probably wasn’t their plan all along but it certainly worked out.