Not only will the Boston Red Sox experience some roster changes due to free agency this offseason, their Triple-A affiliated Worcester Red Sox will lose some depth to the open market.
Big league depth players who signed minor league deals with the Red Sox over the course of the year have become eligible to elect free agency. Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported on October 10 that Sox minor leaguers Ali Sánchez and Nick Burdi have elected free agency, and Trayce Thompson, Abraham Toro and Seby Zavala, among others, are likely to follow.
Cotillo also noted that Bryan Mata could elect free agency, which would symbolize the end of an era in Boston if he signs with another team. Mata was formerly a top Red Sox pitching prospect — at one point, the top pitching prospect in their farm system — but his career was continuously derailed by injuries.
Many reporters believed 2025 could be the year Mata, 26, would make it to the big leagues. After years in Boston's minor league system and a few stints on the 40-man roster, the Red Sox non-tendered Mata at the end of the 2024 season. He quickly reunited with the team as a free agent, and posted an impressive spring training. Cotillo reported then that Mata emerged as a potential bullpen candidate for the big league squad, and Alex Cora said he was "throwing the (expletive) out of the ball.”
Former top Red Sox prospect Bryan Mata expected to elect free agency after 10 years in Boston's system
An injury wasn't the story of Mata's 2025 season, however, as he posted a full healthy slate with the WooSox. The righty struggled to limit damage and posted a 5.08 ERA with a 1.66 WHIP over 67.1 innings. He logged a stellar 93 strikeouts, good for 12.43 strikeouts per nine innings, but the Red Sox never summoned him to the big leagues.
Given his long history of injuries, Mata wasn't the Red Sox's top choice when it came to late-season bullpen reinforcements. Mata came up through the Sox's farm system as a starter, but transitioned to a reliever in the recent years of his career due to his troubles with durability.
The Red Sox signed Mata as an international free agent in January 2016 and he appeared in parts of eight seasons in Boston's system. A back injury, shoulder soreness, a hamstring injury, a teres major strain, Tommy John surgery, lat soreness and elbow soreness have all limited Mata to 515 innings in his minor league career, and he was a full-time starter from 2016-22.
If Mata elects free agency, there's a chance he hopes to return to the Red Sox organization, which has seen him through his entire career so far. He and the Red Sox may have had a handshake deal to reunite after he elected free agency last season, but there is no telling if that is the case yet. Boston also may not want to reunite after Mata's rough 2025 in Triple-A.