The steady stream of former Yankees pitchers finding roles in the Red Sox bullpen has added another name to the list. Based on what we saw last season, His potential upside is promising—but likely short-lived.
There’s a possibility Nick Burdi proves to be a good fit for the Red Sox. It’s a similar gamble to what the Yankees took last year, when they gave Burdi and his high-velocity fastball and lively breaking pitches a spot on their Opening Day roster.
In 2024, Burdi posted the best regular-season numbers of his MLB career, with a 1.86 ERA and a strikeout rate of over 11 per nine innings. However, he didn’t pitch in a major league game after May 23 against Seattle—making that strikeout rate one of the easiest to calculate, since he only logged 9 2/3 innings all year.
Red Sox promote Nick Burdi after injury-plagued season with Yankees
Burdi endured two separate stints on the injured list last year, a tough blow given the long and challenging path he took to reach the majors. At 32, the right-hander has already had Tommy John surgery twice—first in 2017, and again after unsuccessfully trying to avoid it following the 2020 season.
He made it back to the majors with the Cubs in 2023, only to be sidelined again by an emergency appendectomy shortly after his return. With the Yankees last season, he missed about a month due to a hip issue, came back briefly, and then landed on the 60-day IL with recurring inflammation in the same area.
While his surface numbers looked promising, his 5.44 FIP and 1.448 WHIP suggested that his performance could have taken a downturn if he’d kept pitching. This year with the WooSox, though, he’s been outstanding—boasting a minuscule 0.54 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 16 2/3 innings. Perhaps Boston can tap into his potential without interruption, something that seems more likely to happen there than in New York.
Regardless of how this move plays out, the Red Sox deserve credit for thinking outside the box. Burdi has earned another opportunity, and they made the necessary adjustments to give him that chance.
That said, Boston should also take some heat for once again poaching from the Yankees—it’s becoming a pattern. Still, best wishes to Burdi, along with Garrett Whitlock, Richard Fitts, Aroldis Chapman, and Greg Weissert.
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