Former Red Sox pitcher back in AL East after signing MiLB deal with Rays
Arguably one of Chaim Bloom’s best trades while he was leading the Red Sox front office was when he acquired right-handed pitchers Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold from the Phillies for relievers Heath Hembree and Brandon Workman.
After spending last season pitching in the Korea Baseball Organization for the Samsung Lions, Seabold is back and signing a minor league deal with the Rays that will include an invite to spring training, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
Seabold has pitched parts of three seasons in the big leagues with the Red Sox and Rockies. During his two years in Boston, he made six starts, getting roughed up to the tune of a 10.55 ERA with 19 strikeouts to 10 walks with a 6.82 FIP.
He comes back stateside after a strong season playing in the KBO, posting a 3.43 with a 23.8% strikeout rate and a 6% walk rate over 160 frames. The former third-round pick owns a career 8.12 ERA over 108 2/3 innings and will now hope the Rays pitching program can revamp his career.
Tampa Bay has a full rotation with Shane McClanahan, Taj Bradley, Shane Baz, Drew Rasmussen, Zack Littell, and Ryan Pepiot all vying for innings. Seabold likely fits the Rays as a bulk-innings reliever or a swingman, likely keeping him stretched out pitching down at Triple-A Durham.
Pivetta, the other pitcher the Sox picked up in the 2020 trade with the Phils, remains unsigned, likely due to the qualifying offer attached to him. Teams will need to surrender a draft pick to the Red Sox if they sign the Canadian righty. Boston was recently linked to Pivetta, and if they were to bring him back, they’d like to use him out of the bullpen. A move that Pivetta will likely decline, knowing he will become a free agent again next winter, hurting his value.
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