Red Sox Agree to Minor-League Deal With Robert Stock

Old friend of the program comes back to Boston.

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Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that the Red Sox and right-hander Robert Stock have agreed to a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training. Stock had been playing for the Naranjeros de Hermosillo, a Mexican winter ball team. On January 10, the team announced his departure in order to take his physical with the Sox.

Stock, 35, has been out of the majors for a few years but has some experience. From 2018 to 2021, he pitched 72 2/3 innings with the Padres, Red Sox, Cubs, and Mets over four seasons. His time in Boston was short, with only 10 starts and a 4.73 ERA, allowing nine runs (seven earned) on 16 hits in 13 1/3 innings. When he did pitch in Boston, he mainly came in as a low-leavage arm. His career MLB ERA is 4.71, and he has an impressive 49.8% ground ball rate. However, he had issues with command, running a high walk rate of 23.1%.

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If he does see time at Fenway, that groundball rate means the infield behind will have to play hard. Another note is that his fastball averaged 96-98 miles per hour in that time. How will the Red Sox, who have moved away from fastballs more than any other team in baseball, use him? In his last year in the majors, Stock threw 103 fastballs with only 65 offspeed pitches with four different pitch types.

Stock has been well-traveled over the last four years. In 2022, he played in Korea for the Doosan Bears of the KBO League, recording a 3.60 ERA over 29 starts. His performance got him a minor league deal with the Brewers but he struggled with an 8.22 ERA in Nashville and was in independent ball by June, pitching for the Long Island Ducks (Rich Hill shoutout!).

Last year, he signed with the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League. He made 19 starts and threw 98 2/3 innings with a 3.38 ERA. As I mentioned above, he has been playing winter ball with the Naranjeros, posting elite numbers there with him winning the triple crown where he led the league in wins (10) ERA (1.60), and strikeouts (78)

It's a low-risk/high-reward situation for Boston, and I’m excited to see Stock when he starts on February 21. During Spring training, we will see him in the bullpen, as that is where he has been most of his career. He has an outside shot of making the team, but let's see what he does in Fort Myers.