Tyler Danish Elects Free Agency

The Red Sox announced that reliever Tyler Danish has elected minor league free agency. Boston had evidently placed the right-hander on waivers in recent days, freeing up a spot on the 40-man roster.

Danish spent a year in Boston. A former second round pick of the White Sox, he signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox in Spring Training and cracked the 40-man roster before Opening Day. Boston didn’t immediately carry him on the big league club but he pitched his way to the majors by the middle of April. It marked his first big league action in four years, as he’d kicked around the upper minors without landing an MLB opportunity from 2019-21.

The 2022 campaign was by far Danish’s longest look against big league competition. Manager Alex Cora called upon him 32 times, giving him 40 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. He pitched to a 5.13 ERA, striking out only 18.5% of opponents on a modest 7.4% swinging strike rate. He did show the best control of his career, walking only 6.9% of opposing hitters, but his lack of missed bats and a higher than average seven home runs against (1.56 HR/9) push him off the roster.

Danish isn’t a particularly hard thrower, averaging just under 91 MPH on his sinker. He leaned primarily on a curveball this year, with that low-80s offering generating a fair amount of soft contact but not missing many bats. Danish was reasonably effective against right-handed batters, against whom he managed a .245/.310/.415 line. He couldn’t find much of an answer for southpaws, though, punching out just seven of the 57 lefties he faced and surrendering a .275/.351/.490 mark.

Because he’s already been outrighted in his career, Danish had the right to elect free agency as soon as he cleared waivers. He’ll head back to the open market and may be looking at minor league offers with Spring Training invitations once again.

With the offseason approaching, the Red Sox are conducting typical roster maintenance. Removing Danish from the 40-man drops their tally to 39. The Sox have five players on the 60-day injured list who’ll need to be reinstated at the start of the offseason, although they’re on track to see seven players hit free agency (including Xander Bogaerts, who’s a lock to opt out of his contract if the sides don’t agree on an extension in the next week and a half).