The Boston Red Sox made headlines Tuesday by landing a major pitching addition.
They completed a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for three-time All-Star right-hander Sonny Gray. While much of the focus is on the new arm joining Boston’s rotation, the club also recently parted ways with a member of its 2025 bullpen.
News broke Tuesday that right-handed reliever — who chose free agency after his first full season with Boston — has signed a minor-league contract with the Mets. The move was officially processed on Friday, though it did not appear on his roster page until several days later.
Burdi, 32, has had a journeyman six-year major league career, never reaching 10 innings in a single season. He came to the Red Sox after a brief, but strong 2024 campaign with the New York Yankees that was interrupted by injury — an unfortunate them of his professional career.
For the Red Sox, Burdi made four appearances this year, totaling 5 1/3 innings. He didn’t allow an earned run of his own, though he let up two inherited runs during a May outing against the Atlanta Braves, which was the only real high-leverage work he got. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Worcester.
It was Burdi’s strong work for Worcester that likely prompted the Mets to sign him on so early in the offseason. He pitched to a 2.83 ERA in 31 appearances, and all in all, he threw the most innings of any season in his career since 2015 in the Minnesota Twins farm system.
Having since pitched in the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Yankees, and Red Sox organizations, Burdi has become accustomed to the life of a journeyman. He’ll turn 33 in January, and he’ll hope that 12 years after he was drafted, he can finally become a regular major league contributor.
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