The Red Sox are closing in on an agreement with right-handed pitcher Zack Godley, according to a baseball source. Boston immediately started pursuing Godley after he was released by the Tigers on Monday.
The deal is not done, a source cautioned, but the Red Sox have emerged as the clear favorite to sign Godley.
If the deal is finalized, Godley will join the competition for Boston’s open back-end rotation spots. With Chris Sale out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and Eduardo Rodriguez temporarily sidelined after testing positive for COVID-19, the Sox have two open spots in their rotation and are considering Brian Johnson, Chris Mazza, Matt Hall, Jeffrey Springs and others with 10 days to go before Opening Day.
Godley, a 30-year-old right-hander, was a member of the Diamondbacks’ rotation in 2017 and 2018, posting a 4.10 ERA over 57 starts in those two seasons. He struggled at the beginning of last season, leading Arizona to designate him for assignment in early August. The Blue Jays claimed him off waivers in early August and he threw 16 relief innings for Toronto down the stretch, posting a 3.94 ERA and 12 strikeouts.
Godley signed a minor-league deal with Detroit in December and was in camp on a deal that could have paid him up to $3 million if all incentives were reached. The Tigers, who weren’t planning on having Godley on their Opening Day roster, cut him to allow him to latch on with another club before Opening Day.
Godley’s major-league track record would seem to give him a slight upper hand in the Sox’ rotation competition, though manager Ron Roenicke and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom would obviously want to see him in camp before making a decision. On Sunday, Roenicke said he believed the Sox were looking at acquiring starting pitching via free agency or trade.
“It’s hard to say that you’d ever feel really comfortable with all the starting pitching that you have,” Roenicke said during a Zoom call. “Rarely do you have six, seven, eight starters that you feel great about. And you know you’re not going to just use five guys. That just doesn’t happen in today’s game. So you’re never comfortable with enough starters.”