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Michael Fulmer

Royals Sign Michael Fulmer To Minor League Deal

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The Royals announced Thursday that they’ve signed righty Michael Fulmer to a minor league contract. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Omaha. Fulmer, a client of BBI Sports Group, recently passed through waivers and elected free agency after being designated for assignment by the Cubs.

Fulmer, 32, is a former American League Rookie of the Year whose career has been slowed by injuries. He was an integral part of the Tigers’ rotation for three years before elbow and knee surgeries pushed him to the bullpen. He found second life as a reliever with the Tigers, Twins and Cubs from 2021-23 before a torn UCL required Tommy John surgery and wiped out his entire 2024 campaign. He spent all of last year and the beginning of the current season in the Red Sox organization after inking a two-year minor league contract, but the Royals are now his third organization before the All-Star break.

Fulmer started 75 games with the Tigers from 2016-18 and posted a combined 3.81 ERA. His 2021-23 work as a closer and setup man resulted in another 190 1/3 innings of 3.55 ERA ball. He fanned 24.6% of his opponents in that time against a 9.4% walk rate, and Fulmer added in 19 saves and 45 holds along the way.

Though his return from Tommy John surgery hasn’t yet netted him a lengthy look in the majors, he did get into three games between Boston and Chicago this season. In that time, he pitched a combined 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on six hits and a pair of walks with three strikeouts.

The bulk of Fulmer’s 2025 season, however, has been spent in Triple-A. He’s tossed 36 innings between the top affiliates for the Red Sox and Cubs, recording a sharp 3.00 ERA with a huge 33.8% strikeout rate against a shaky 11.5% walk rate. He’s sitting 92.7 mph with his four-seamer in Triple-A, which is down about 1.5 mph from his pre-surgery form.

Kansas City has had a quality bullpen in 2025, ranking sixth in the majors with a collective 3.55 ERA. They’ve been more of a middle-of-the-pack group over the past month, however, pitching to a 16th-ranked 3.94 ERA in that time. They’ve still gotten mostly solid work from their top relievers, but they’ve cycled through several names in the final couple bullpen spots and received poor performance over the past month. Trevor Richards, Sam Long and Taylor Clarke all have ERAs north of 6.50 in that span (albeit in a total of just 19 innings between the three of them). Fulmer will add a veteran arm to the depth chart in Omaha and could get a look as the summer wears on.

Michael Fulmer Elects Free Agency

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Right-hander Michael Fulmer has elected free agency, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He cleared outright waivers after being designated for assignment last week but exercised his right to reject that assignment and head to the open market.

Fulmer, 32, is back on the mound this year after spending 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery. He has gotten brief major league stints with both the Red Sox and Cubs, with one appearance for Boston and two for Chicago. Combined, he has thrown 5 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out three.

Around those big league appearances, he has been putting up good numbers in the minors. Between those two organizations, he has thrown 36 Triple-A innings with a flat earned run average of 3.00. He has walked 11.5% of batters faced at that level, which is a high number, but also punched out 33.8% of opponents.

In addition to this year’s strong minor league numbers, he has major league success on his track record. He had some good years as a starter with the Tigers almost a decade ago but some injuries eventually pushed him to the bullpen. From 2021 to 2023, he logged 190 1/3 big league innings with a 3.55 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. He earned 19 saves and 45 holds in that span.

His minor league numbers this year have largely been in line with that previous run, so he should garner interest elsewhere. The fact that he cleared waivers suggests that he will probably be limited to minor league deals.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Cubs Designate Michael Fulmer For Assignment

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The Cubs have designated right-hander Michael Fulmer for assignment, per a team announcement. That move will clear space on the active roster for the reinstatement of lefty Shota Imanaga, who’ll return from the injured list to start today’s game.

Fulmer only joined the big league club last week. He’d been pitching well with Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate in Iowa, working to a 2.96 ERA with a 32% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate in 24 1/3 innings. His two appearances with the Cubs were strong. He totaled three innings and held opponents scoreless on just two hits and no walks with one strikeout.

This is the second DFA of the season for Fulmer, the 2016 American League Rookie of the Year winner with the Tigers. He opened the season as a member of the Red Sox, having signed a two-year minor league deal in the 2023-24 offseason as he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery. He made just one big league appearance with the Sox, allowing three runs in 2 2/3 innings, before being designated there as well.

Now 32 years old, Fulmer broke into the majors with 26 starts and 159 innings of 3.06 ERA ball for the ’16 Tigers, claiming Rookie of the Year honors in the process. He was a key member of Detroit’s rotation for the next couple seasons before injuries intervened. In addition to Tommy John surgery, Fulmer has also undergone an ulnar nerve transposition procedure in his right arm as well as surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his knee. Detroit moved him to the ’pen early in 2021, and he went on to pitch quite well as a closer and setup man between the Tigers, Twins and Cubs over the next two-plus seasons.

While he’s not the high-end starting pitcher he was early in his career or even the hard-throwing, high-leverage reliever he was from 2021-23, Fulmer has generally looked solid in his first full season back from that UCL replacement. He’s pitched 36 innings of 3.00 ERA ball in Triple-A, averaging 92.7 mph on his heater there — he sat 94.3 mph in his two major league outings with Chicago — and pitched well in his latest MLB look.

The Cubs will have up to five days to explore trades before Fulmer must be placed on waivers to ensure that his DFA is resolved within the one-week maximum. (Waivers take 48 hours to process.) He can be waived at any time prior, of course. If Fulmer passes through waivers unclaimed, he’ll have the right to reject an outright assignment to a minor league affiliate with the Cubs and instead explore opportunities with the league’s 29 other teams.

Cubs Select Michael Fulmer

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The Cubs announced today that they have selected the contract of right-hander Michael Fulmer. Fellow right-hander Nate Pearson has been optioned to Triple-A Iowa as the corresponding active roster move. The 40-man roster had a vacancy but is now full.

Fulmer pitched briefly with the Red Sox earlier this year but was cut loose after yielding three runs in just 2 2/3 innings. That marked the end of what was a relatively long match between the two parties. The 2016 American League Rookie of the Year (as a starter with the Tigers) had signed a two-year minor league contract with Boston and spent the entire 2024 season and early 2025 season rehabbing with Boston’s staff. He signed with the Cubs on a minor league pact in late April.

That looks to have been a potentially nice pickup for the Cubs, who are no stranger to Fulmer after he spent the 2023 season in Chicago’s bullpen. So far in his second stint with the Cubs, Fulmer has pitched 24 1/3 Triple-A frames with a tidy 2.96 ERA. He’s fanned a gaudy 32% of his opponents but also issued walks at an inflated 11% clip. Fulmer’s heater isn’t close to the 95.5 mph it averaged at peak, but he saw a modest bump from 92.4 mph during his time with the Red Sox to 92.9 mph with the Cubs’ affiliate in Iowa.

As tends to be the case, the Cubs are patching their bullpen together on the fly this year. Porter Hodge, who had a nice rookie showing in 2024, has missed more than a month due to an oblique strain. Ryan Pressly, the Cubs’ primary offseason acquisition in the bullpen, was shaky early before being absolute torpedoed for eight earned runs without recording an out in a May 6 drubbing at the hands of the Giants. He’s still working to recover from that damage, but Pressly rattled off 15 straight scoreless innings with a 14-to-3 K/BB ratio thereafter. He served up two earned runs in his most recent appearance — his first runs allowed since that calamitous Giants appearance.

The rest of the bullpen consists of journeymen and reclamation projects. Chicago currently has Drew Pomeranz, Chris Flexen, Brad Keller, Ryan Brasier and Caleb Thielbar in the bullpen — all 30-something veterans on one-year deals. (Keller will turn 30 next month.) The lone exception is young Daniel Palencia, who’s been handling save situations recently and looks to be handling the job well. He’s picked up seven saves while posting a 1.93 ERA in 28 frames this year. That includes a 1.46 ERA and 14-to-3 K/BB ratio in 12 1/3 innings since being moved into the ninth inning.

Fulmer will join that cast of 30-something veterans and hope he can find similar success to Keller, Pomeranz, Thielbar, Flexen and Brasier — all of whom improbably sport ERAs of 2.20 or better.

Cubs, Michael Fulmer Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs have agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Michael Fulmer, per Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register. The BBI Sports Group client is headed to Triple-A Iowa for the time being. Fulmer was designated for assignment by the Red Sox last week and recently rejected an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Fulmer, 32, spent the 2023 season in the Cubs’ bullpen and logged 57 innings with a 4.42 ERA, a 27.4% strikeout rate and an 11.8% walk rate. That marks Fulmer’s last full, healthy season. The Cubs announced that October that Fulmer had undergone a UCL procedure in his right elbow, which wiped out his entire 2024 campaign.

Fulmer signed with the Red Sox on a two-year minor league contract and spent last season rehabbing with the organization. Interestingly, he was stretched out to work multiple innings in spring training this year and began the 2025 campaign as a starter with Boston’s Triple-A affiliate in Worcester. Fulmer pitched well in 11 2/3 minor league frames, logging a 3.09 ERA with an 18-to-6 K/BB ratio (37.5 K%, 12.5 BB%). He made one big league appearance with the Sox, yielding three runs in 2 2/3 innings, before being designated for assignment.

Rotation work is hardly a new role for Fulmer, who not only broke into the majors as a starter but captured 2016 American League Rookie of the Year honors while pitching in that role with the Tigers. Fulmer was a key member of Detroit’s rotation from 2016-18 before injuries set in and threw his career into a tumultuous state. He underwent an ulnar nerve transposition procedure late in the 2017 season, had surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his knee in 2018 and missed all of the 2019 campaign following Tommy John surgery. Fulmer returned to make 10 starts in the shortened 2020 season, but he was shelled for an ERA just shy of 9.00.

In 2021, Detroit began transitioning Fulmer to a relief role, and he hit the ground running. He pitched exclusively in relief from May 5 onward that year and recorded a pristine 2.25 ERA with a 26% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate. By season’s end, he was closing games for A.J. Hinch.

That kicked off a nice three-year run of bullpen work between the Tigers, Twins (who acquired him at the trade deadline in 2022) and Cubs (who signed him as a free agent in the 2022-23 offseason). In that time, Fulmer pitched 190 1/3 innings with a 3.55 ERA, 19 saves, 45 holds, a 24.6% strikeout rate and a 9.4% walk rate. He wasn’t quite an elite reliever, but he was effective and seemed to have fully acclimated to high-leverage settings.

Now back with the Cubs, Fulmer can be deployed in a variety of ways. If Chicago is intrigued by the idea of continuing to stretch him out as a starter, he’d make plenty of sense as rotation depth. Ace Justin Steele’s season is over due to elbow surgery, and young righty Javier Assad has yet to pitch in 2025 due to an oblique injury. He’d been on track for an early May return but exited a rehab start yesterday due to what appeared to be renewed discomfort. Right now, the Cubs are going with Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd, Ben Brown and Colin Rea in the rotation. Top prospect Cade Horton looms in Triple-A, though he’s walked 20.8% of his opponents through his first three starts and could probably use some more development time.

Alternatively, the Cubs could drop Fulmer right back into the bullpen role he’s held in recent years. Chicago relievers have the fourth-worst ERA in the majors (5.34), the third-worst strikeout rate (18.4%) and the eighth-highest walk rate (11.5%). Right-handers Ryan Brasier, Tyson Miller and Eli Morgan are all on the 15-day injured list, which has thinned out the depth in Craig Counsell’s bullpen.

Michael Fulmer Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: Fulmer cleared waivers and was outrighted off Boston’s 40-man roster, but MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith writes that Fulmer has chosen to become a free agent rather than accept the outright assignment.

APRIL 18: The Red Sox announced that they have designated right-hander Michael Fulmer for assignment. That opens a roster spot for righty Hunter Dobbins, who has been recalled to the big league club. The Sox also reinstated third baseman Alex Bregman from the paternity list and optioned infielder/outfielder Nick Sogard.

Fulmer, 32, was just selected to Boston’s roster a few days ago. On Monday, starter Tanner Houck was obliterated by the Rays, allowing 11 earned in in 2 1/3 innings. Fulmer came in and tossed 2 2/3, allowing three earned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two. He hasn’t pitched since then but the Sox needed to make room for Dobbins, who is making a spot start tonight, which has bumped Fulmer off the roster.

It may end up being a pretty unceremonious end to a fairly long pairing between the Sox and Fulmer. He underwent UCL revision surgery late in October of 2023 and was going to miss the entire 2024 season. He then signed a two-year minor league deal with the Red Sox, to cover his recovery and potential return in 2025.

The Red Sox stretched him out as a starter this year, an interesting choice as he had been working in relief prior to signing with them. He had a 0.79 ERA in the spring and then a 3.09 ERA in three minor league outings before coming to the big leagues for his aforementioned mop-up outing on Monday.

It’s a pretty small sample and tough to draw many conclusions from it. Now that he’s been sent into DFA limbo, the Sox will have a week to either trade him or pass him through waivers. The waiver process takes 48 hours so any trade talks would have to come together in the next five days.

Prior to his lengthy layoff, Fulmer had some interesting career highlights. He won American League Rookie of the Year in 2016, tossing 159 innings for the Tigers with a 3.06 ERA. His results dipped a bit in the following years and then he missed 2019 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He returned and found some success in a move to the bullpen, with a 2.97 ERA in 2021.  But that ERA jumped to 3.39 in 2022 and 4.42 the year after, before he required another trip to the surgeon’s table.

Perhaps Fulmer will find some interest based on that track record. If he clears waivers, he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Red Sox Place Richard Fitts On 15-Day IL, Select Michael Fulmer

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The Red Sox are placing right-hander Richard Fitts on the 15-day injured list, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reports, and Michael Fulmer’s contract has been selected from Triple-A in the corresponding move.  The club has now officially announced the move, and designated Fitts’ injury as a right pectoral strain.  The Sox have an open spot on the 40-man roster, so no further transaction is needed to bring Fulmer to the active roster.

It seemed inevitable that an IL stint was coming for Fitts given how he abruptly left yesterday’s game in clear discomfort after throwing a pitch in the sixth inning.  The Red Sox initially described his injury as “right shoulder pain,” so the fact that the issue has now been identified as a pec strain could be viewed as relatively good news.  Still, Fitts could be facing an absence of well beyond 15 days depending on the severity of the strain, and no recovery timeline has yet been announced.

Fitts is now the sixth starting pitcher on Boston’s injured list.  Chris Murphy (Tommy John surgery) and Patrick Sandoval (internal brace surgery) are out until at least midseason, and there hasn’t been much news on Kutter Crawford (patellar tendinopathy) since he began the season the 15-day IL.  Brayan Bello (shoulder strain) and Lucas Giolito (hamstring strain) have both thrown multiple Triple-A rehab outings and appear closest to returning, but both will get at least one more start in Worcester before a decision is made about their activation.  The Red Sox aren’t going to rush either back just in lieu of Fitts’ injury, as since the club has an off-day on Thursday, they don’t need a fifth starter until April 22 at the earliest.

The timing could allow Bello or Giolito to fit rather smoothly into Fitts’ place, though that doesn’t change the fact that the Red Sox pitching staff has been hit pretty hard by the injury bug in the early going.  All of the rotation absences opened the door for Fitts to join the starting five in the first place, as he won the job with an impressive Spring Training and then delivered a 3.18 ERA over his first three starts and 17 innings.

Between this season’s work and the 1.74 ERA Fitts posted in his first 20 2/3 big league innings in 2024, Fitts now has a 2.39 ERA over 37 2/3 frames at the MLB level.  His strikeout rate stands at only 14.2% and his 5.04 SIERA is far less flattering, but Fitts has good chase rates despite the lack of strikeouts and his 7.7% walk rate is solid.

Fulmer could also be utilized in the starting mix, as he has started two of his three games with Worcester this season.  Whatever the role, Fulmer is surely happy just to finally be back in the majors, following a a UCL revision procedure that sidelined him for the entire 2024 season.  The Red Sox signed Fulmer to a two-year minor league deal in October 2023, with the understanding that Fulmer would spend 2024 rehabbing and then be ready to go for this year.

Fulmer began his big league career as a starter with the Tigers in 2016, and enjoyed immediate success as the AL Rookie of the Year.  An All-Star season in 2017 further seemed to cement his place as a big part of Detroit’s future, though his production took a step back in 2018, and he missed all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery.  Fulmer struggled in his return to the Tigers rotation in 2020 but then transitioned to relief pitching, and seemed to find a second wind to his career.  Over 190 1/3 innings from 2021-23, Fulmer worked as a reliever for 172 of his 177 games with the Tigers, Twins, and Cubs, and delivered a 3.55 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate, and 9.4% walk rate.

A return to rotation work in the context of Fulmer’s past struggles and his long injury layoff may seem unusual, but Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said the team was viewing Fulmer as a possible candidate for at least bulk innings (if not a full starting job) even before signing him to that minor league deal.  It will be interesting to see how Fulmer is deployed now that he is part of the 26-man roster, and whether or not manager Alex Cora could get creative with Fulmer in a variety of roles to best maximize his potential.

Red Sox Notes: Devers, Mayer, Fulmer

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Rafael Devers’ position switch from third base to DH has been one of the offseason’s top subplots, as it dovetailed with Boston signing Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120MM contract to become the club’s new everyday third baseman.  Red Sox manager Alex Cora added another wrinkle to the situation when speaking with reporters (including The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey) yesterday, noting that Devers isn’t in the third base plans at all, as Romy Gonzalez will step in at the hot corner when Bregman needs a day off.

“Raffy is going to DH,” Cora said.  “We had a conversation, we talked about it.  He’s DHing.  He’s the DH of the Boston Red Sox.  One thing is we don’t want him to overthink it.  Don’t get caught up in the whole thing.  He’ll be OK.”

It isn’t known how the Sox might adjust if Bregman were to miss an extended amount of time on the injured list, yet Cora’s statement pretty plainly underscores Boston’s commitment to keeping Devers in a batter-only capacity for the time being.  McCaffrey writes that Devers is still taking grounders at third base as part of pregame warmups, possibly as a way of maintaining some part of his past pregame routine while adjusting overall to his new reality as a designated hitter.

The early results haven’t been great, as Devers is 0-for-8 with seven strikeouts in his first eight trips to the plate in 2025.  Naturally, two games is a minuscule sample size, and some rust was probably expected given how Devers only appeared in five Spring Training games.  Devers spent a good chunk of the offseason dealing with inflammation in both shoulders, and thus the Red Sox lessened his workload in camp as Devers worked his way back to full health.  The shoulder issue’s impact on Devers’ also surely factored into the team’s decision to keep Devers in a DH capacity.

While plans may change as the season develops, it would certainly seem like the Sox are trying to ease Devers into a full-time DH role over the long-term.  Bregman can opt out of his contract after the season, and while Devers could potentially be moved back over to third base after a year off, it would seem more likely that the Red Sox would use Bregman’s departure as a way to get star prospect Marcelo Mayer into the lineup.

Mayer made his Triple-A debut in Worcester’s game with the Syracuse Mets yesterday, and it is widely expected that the infielder will be making his MLB debut at some point in 2025.  If Mayer had had his way, he would’ve skipped Triple-A entirely and already be part of the Sox roster after posting huge numbers in Spring Training.

“Based on performance, I feel like I did earn a spot on that team,” Mayer said in an interview on WEEI’s Jones & Keefe show.  “With that being said, things didn’t go my way and now I’m here [in Triple-A] and I’m just going to get after it every single day, and keep doing what I’m doing.”

The comments caused a bit of a stir on social media, yet Cora told MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith and other reporters that he “100 percent” wants to see his players share Mayer’s confident attitude.  Obviously Mayer’s production will dictate how quickly he might join the Show, yet given the crowded nature of Boston’s current roster, it will be interesting to see how the Red Sox will carve out playing time for the fourth overall pick.  Since the Sox don’t want to call Mayer up just to have him ride the bench, perhaps some kind of injury might need to arise before a Mayer promotion is really on the radar.

Michael Fulmer is also in Worcester, and will be working as a starting pitcher during his time in the minors, Red Sox senior director of player development Brian Abraham told Smith.  There is some flexibility at play since Abraham said “as of right now” Fulmer will start, but the Sox seem interested in stretching Fulmer out to see what he can do in a potential return to a starting role.

Beginning his career as a starter with the Tigers, Fulmer enjoyed some instant success in capturing AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2016.  Injuries (including a Tommy John surgery that cost him all of 2019) necessitated a move to the bullpen in 2021, and Fulmer seemed to thrive in that role while pitching with the Tigers, Twins, and Cubs over the 2021-23 seasons.  Unfortunately, Fulmer continued to battle health problems, and he underwent a UCL revision in October 2023 that cost him another full season, as he didn’t pitch at all in 2024.

The Red Sox inked Fulmer to a two-year minor league contract in February 2024, with the understanding that he’d take the first year to rehab and then prep for a return this season.  Fulmer told Smith that he and Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow even discussed a possible return to starting pitching when the contract was first signed, and Fulmer is open to working in any capacity.

“If it sticks, it sticks.  If it doesn’t, then I go back to the bullpen,” Fulmer said.  “I did the transition once and it was a fairly easy transition. I’ve enjoyed both [roles].”

Red Sox Notes: Fitts, Zavala, Moore, Ottavino, Front Office Changes

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Right-hander Richard Fitts has pitched well in his bid for a starting job this spring, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora confirmed to reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) that Fitts had indeed landed the fourth starter’s role.  Sean Newcomb and Quinn Priester now look to be the last two pitchers competing for the fifth spot behind Fitts, Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, and Walker Buehler.

Injuries have thrown a few wrinkles into Boston’s rotation plans this spring, as Brayan Bello (shoulder soreness), Lucas Giolito (hamstring strain) and Kutter Crawford (right knee soreness) will all start the season on the injured list.  This put the rotation depth to the test immediately, allowing Fitts and others the opportunity to get their feet in the door for a starting slot.

Fitts already made a good accounting for himself last season, when he debuted in the big leagues as a September call-up and posted a 1.74 ERA over his first 20 2/3 innings in the Show.  Originally a member of the Yankees’ farm system, Fitts came to Boston as part of the three-player package New York sent to the Red Sox for Alex Verdugo last winter.  A 4.17 ERA in 116 2/3 innings for Triple-A Worcester paved the way for Fitts’ late-season audition in the bigs, and he has kept up the good form with a 2.45 ERA in 14 2/3 innings this spring.

While Fitts has booked his spot on the Opening Day roster, the Red Sox have plenty more decisions to make before breaking camp.  Some of the roster trimming continued today, as MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and Christopher Smith report that right-hander Michael Fulmer and catcher Seby Zavala wouldn’t be making the team, and Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe reports that the same is true of veteran pitchers Matt Moore and Adam Ottavino.

Moore and Ottavino are both Article XX(b) free agents, so their minor league deals contain built-in opt-out clauses for today, May 1, and June 1 unless their teams have selected those contracts to the 26-man roster.  With the Sox informing Moore and Ottavino that they won’t be making the team, the ball is now in each player’s court as to whether or they’ll trigger their opt-out, or stick around in Boston’s farm system.

Zavala doesn’t have enough MLB service time to qualify for XX(b) status, but his deal have its own opt-out clause.  Zavala told Cotillo that he’ll report to Triple-A Worcester unless he hears about another 40-man roster opportunity on another team within the next 24 hours.  With Zavala not making the Opening Day cut, Carlos Narvaez looks to have all but officially wrapped up the backup catching job behind starter Connor Wong.

Fulmer’s two-year minor league contract doesn’t contain any opt-out provisions, so the former AL Rookie of the Year will head to Triple-A despite an impressive 0.96 ERA over 9 1/3 innings.  A UCL revision surgery kept Fulmer on the shelf for the entirety of the 2024 season, which is why he inked that two-year pact with the Red Sox in February 2024.  The early returns on Fulmer’s recovery look good, and he’ll bide his time in the minors waiting for a call to come for his return to the majors.

Beyond all of the internal options the Sox are considering, Cotillo and Smith write that the club could be looking to add some depth at first base.  Triston Casas is the starting first baseman, and among bench options, Wong, Romy Gonzalez, and Rob Refsnyder all have experience at the position, though Refsnyder hasn’t played first since 2020, and deploying Wong at first base obviously creates a bit of a crunch behind the plate.

According to Cotillo and Smith, the Sox could have some interest in reuniting with Dominic Smith, even though Smith perhaps isn’t an ideal fit since he and Casas are both left-handed hitters.  Smith played 84 games with Boston last year before being released in August, and Smith just re-entered the free agent market after opting out of a minors deal with the Yankees.

In some interesting behind-the-scenes Red Sox news, The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey detailed some of the many organizational changes Craig Breslow has overseen since being hired as Boston’s chief baseball officer in the fall of 2023.  Breslow has conducted something of an overhaul of several different departments within baseball options, ranging from installing new department heads to entirely changing how certain divisions operate.  The perception is that the Sox are adopting more of an analytical-based approach, as evidenced by staffing increases to the research and development department and cuts made within the various scouting divisions.

As one might expect, not all of these changes have been welcomed with open arms, creating some tension within current and former members of the organizational staff.  Breslow admitted that “without a doubt, we had to make really difficult decisions,” but “my hope is that whether people agree with those decisions or not, they understood that we were making the best decisions that we could in order to further this goal we have of competing for World Series championships year over year.  I don’t know that there’s a finish line.  We need to constantly evolve, track our progress, reevaluate.”

Red Sox Notes: Houck, Newcomb, Fulmer, Chapman

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The Red Sox haven’t approached right-hander Tanner Houck about a contract extension this spring, Houck himself tells Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. The 28-year-old adds that he’s open to such talks and would be happy to stay in Boston long-term — “I love it here” — but isn’t concerning himself with the lack of extension talks at present.

Houck reached arbitration for the first time this offseason and agreed on a $3.95MM salary to avoid a hearing. That contract came on the back of a breakout 2024 season wherein he pitched a career-high 178 2/3 innings with a 3.12 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate, 55.9% grounder rate and 0.55 HR/9 over the life of 30 starts. After having floated between the bullpen in rotation in recent seasons, that career-best performance cemented Houck’s spot in Boston’s rotation.

Injuries to Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito only further locked Houck into a prominent rotation role. He’ll likely take the ball in the Red Sox’ second game, behind Opening Day starter Garrett Crochet. The rest of the rotation looks a bit different than most would’ve expected heading into camp. Free-agent signee Walker Buehler is locked into a spot, but there’s been a competition for the final two outings that’s taken place as health troubles have arisen.

Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic wrote earlier in the week that right-hander Richard Fitts looked to have the fourth spot in the rotation locked up. The 25-year-old Fitts, acquired from the Yankees in the trade sending Alex Verdugo to the Bronx, has allowed only one run in 10 2/3 official spring innings. He’s punched out 13 of his 31 opponents (31.7%) against four walks (9.8%). Fitts posted a 4.17 ERA, 22.6% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate in 116 2/3 Triple-A innings last year and also made a brief MLB debut, pitching 20 2/3 frames with a 1.74 ERA (in spite of a paltry 10.6% strikeout rate in the majors).

More surprisingly, McCaffrey listed veteran Sean Newcomb as a strong candidate to earn the fifth spot. MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith suggests the same, writing that manager Alex Cora said the veteran lefty has “caught our eyes” with an impressive spring of his own. Newcomb, a Massachusetts native, has held opponents to one run on five hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings. Unlike many veterans around the league on non-roster invitations, Newcomb does not have an opt-out in his contract before the end of camp, Smith notes, so the Sox don’t need to worry about losing him if they opt for someone already on the 40-man roster, such as righty Quinn Priester.

Similarly, veteran reliever Michael Fulmer tells WEEI’s Rob Bradford that his minor league deal with Boston does not have an opt-out opportunity. The former AL Rookie of the Year signed a two-year minor league deal with the Sox in the 2023-24 offseason as he rehabbed from a UCL revision performed in Oct. 2023.

Fulmer didn’t pitch last year while rehabbing that procedure, but the 32-year-old has been outstanding this spring. He’s tossed 9 1/3 innings and held opponents to one run on nine hits and three walks with nine strikeouts. The fact that he can’t opt out is a bit of a strike against his Opening Day chances, particularly if the Sox want to carry a long reliever to support their diminished rotation, but Fulmer has put himself in a nice position to either break camp with the team or get an early-season look.

At the other end of the bullpen, Boston’s ninth-inning picture has been a question for much of the spring. The hope was surely that Liam Hendriks would look closer to vintage form and claim that role as he enters the second season of a two-year contract, but it’s lefty Aroldis Chapman who’s emerged as the favorite for ninth-inning work, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com writes. Chapman has impressed the Sox with the quality of his raw stuff and has set down 10 of his 23 spring opponents on strikes. Hendriks has been tagged for six runs in five spring frames. Righty Justin Slaten also appears to be ahead of Hendriks on the closer depth chart — at least for the time being.

Certainly, that’s subject to change as the season wears on. Changes in the ninth inning are common, particularly when the frontrunner is a 37-year-old with persistent command issues and a recent injury history of note. Hendriks, Slaten or someone else entirely could wind up handling the bulk of the ninth-inning workload for skipper Alex Cora, but it sounds like Chapman will get first crack, thereby giving him a chance to become just the 14th pitcher in MLB history to tally 350 saves. He currently ranks 16th all-time, sitting just six saves behind Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers.

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