As the Boston Red Sox continue their search for their first big league free agent signing of the offseason, they continue to bolster their minor league pitching depth.
The Red Sox have signed former Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros pitcher Patrick Halligan to a minor league deal, reported by Andrew Parker of SoxProspects. The deal does not include an invite to major league spring training. Halligan, 26, was selected by the Royals in the 13th round of the 2021 MLB Draft and has not yet made his big league debut.
Boston has recently shifted its focus to coveting massive pitchers. Halligan stands at a hulking six-foot-six, and Garrett Crochet, Johan Oviedo and Payton Tolle are the same height. Jake Bennett, another minor league pitcher the Sox acquired from the Washington Nationals this offseason, is also six-foot-six — the Red Sox are taking the "mass equals gas" principle to a new level.
Halligan has worked mostly as a reliever in the minor leagues, but he made 10 starts 2023, the most he's posted in a single season, during his tenure with the Braves organization. The righty reached Triple-A with the Royals in 2022, his second season in the minors, but he hasn't been able to make the jump to the big leagues.
Red Sox sign former Royals, Braves and Astros righty pitcher Patrick Halligan to a minor league deal
Halligan has posted a 4.34 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP with 282 strikeouts and 104 walks over 265.1 innings pitched in his professional career. He pitched to a 5.45 ERA with 51 strikeouts and 14 walks over 69.1 innings in 2022, the season in which he reached Triple-A. He only posted 2.1 innings in Omaha, but he fanned three batters and allowed only one baserunner.
The Braves signed the righty as a minor league free agent before the 2023 season and booted him all the way back down to High-A when he reached their system. During the 2025 campaign, he was shipped to the Astros as a Player To Be Named Later in the Rafael Montero trade. He clocked a 4.40 ERA last season with 66 strikeouts and 27 walks over 57.1 innings last season.
Halligan has struggled to minimize walks throughout his career and the Red Sox's pitching program may be able to help him fix that by only having him throw his best offerings. Boston may be the club that finally gives Halligan the boost he needs to make it in the big leagues as a depth reliever.