The Red Sox have signed right-hander Austin Adams to a minor league deal, KPRC’s Ari Alexander reports. Adams will receive an invite to Boston’s big league spring camp, and his contract contains over $1.5MM in bonuses based on appearances at the MLB level.
Should Adams indeed cash in on those bonuses, it should bring his salary fairly close to the $1.7MM that MLBTR projected as his arbitration salary in 2025, though the Athletics outrighted him at season’s end in what was essentially an early non-tender. Though $1.7MM isn’t a big sum even for the A’s, Adams’ 12% walk rate was on the high side, even though he had a 3.92 ERA and 27.7% strikeout rate over 41 1/3 innings out of the Athletics’ bullpen.
These numbers are pretty close to a match to the 4.10 ERA, 31.6% strikeout rate, and 13.9% walk rate Adams has posted in his 155 2/3 innings in the Show. His control problems also manifested themselves in a league-leading 24 batters hit by pitches in 2021.
Adams has appeared in each of the last eight Major League seasons, ranging from cups of coffee (two appearances in each of the 2018 and 2022) to larger workloads, like this past season in Oakland or his career high of 52 2/3 innings with the 2021 Padres. Adams has seen action with five different teams at the big league level, including a three-year stint in San Diego from 2020-22 that was shortened by a flexor tendon surgery that cost him almost all of the 2022 campaign.
The Sox will become the latest team to see if they can fix the 33-year-old’s control and get his slider-heavy arsenal to deliver more consistent results at the big league level. Adams’ strikeout potential is clearly evident, and even beyond the hidden-gem potential, he can bring some value to Boston’s bullpen even if he only replicates his overall decent 2024 results. At the cost of just a minor league contract, there’s no risk for the Red Sox in letting Adams compete for a job in spring camp.