It's always so satisfying when your favorite team can swipe a player from a division rival and immediately reap the benefits.
The Boston Red Sox are setting themselves up nicely for this exact scenario to play out, as they've reportedly signed relief pitcher Nick Burdi to a minor league contract. He will not be in big league camp, first reported by MassLive's Chris Cotillo.
Burdi, 32, spent last year in the division rival New York Yankees' system, but he only managed to make 18 minor league appearances and 12 big league appearances before an injury prematurely ended his season. In the bigs, he posted a 1.86 ERA across 9.2 innings of work, providing a small sliver of hope in an admittedly tiny sample size.
A former second-round pick and highly touted prospect of the Minnesota Twins organization, Burdi has bounced around quite a bit in recent years as he looks to finally put together a full, healthy season.
The Red Sox have right-handed pitcher Nick Burdi in camp.
— Chris Henrique (@ChrisHenrique) March 1, 2025
Burdi pitched 12 games for the Yankees last year, posting 1.86 ERA.
Red Sox ink intriguing former Yankees reliever Nick Burdi to minor league contract
Throughout his professional career dating back to 2014, Burdi only has one full season of games under his belt, as he made 43 relief appearances for two Twins' affiliates in 2015. In every single year since then, he's fought through a laundry list of injuries.
A bone bruise in his right elbow, thoracic outlet syndrome, two Tommy John surgeries, an emergency appendectomy, right hip inflammation, you name it. Burdi's body has been through the ringer over the years, but he's shown a fair amount of potential in the games he's actually made it into.
The 6.48 career ERA he's sporting at the game's highest level is obviously not one that will instill much confidence on the surface. However, he's struck out 14 batters per nine innings, which is an insanely impressive stat, regardless of his struggles to prevent runs.
The ability to consistently strike batters out has been a trait Burdi's carried throughout his career. In 131 minor league games, he's got a 12.6 K/9, which is still well above league average. Durability and inconsistent control are the two biggest concerns in his game, but his 7.2 H/9 and 0.5 HR/9 throughout his minor league career, paired with those ridiculous strikeout numbers, make him well worth the risk on a low-cost flier like this one.
At the moment, Burdi is buried pretty far on the Red Sox organizational depth chart, but he's got the tools to turn some heads if he can finally stay healthy.