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With two weeks to go before Opening Day, the Red Sox have finally added a veteran free agent reliever to their bullpen mix.
Boston has reached an agreement with southpaw Danny Coulombe on a one-year contract worth $1 million, a source confirmed. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal first reported the news.
The Red Sox cleared a 40-man spot for Coulombe by placing infielder/outfielder Romy Gonzalez, who is dealing with a shoulder injury, on the 60-day injured list. He is out for at least the first two months of the season.
Left-handed relief has looked to be a weak spot on Boston’s roster all winter after the departures of Brennan Bernardino, Steven Matz, Chris Murphy and Justin Wilson. Coulombe joins Jovani Morán — a camp standout who has impressed both at Fenway South and with Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic — as the top two left-handed options behind closer Aroldis Chapman, who will return to man the ninth. Boston also has trade addition Tyler Samaniego and non-roster invitees T.J. Sikkema and Alec Gamboa left in camp. Starter Patrick Sandoval may have been a candidate for a relief role but has still not gotten into a spring training game and will not be ready for Opening Day.
The Red Sox have shown interest in Coulombe, an 11-year veteran, since December, according to sources, and secured experience in their relief group by agreeing to a mid-March deal with him. It remains unclear if the 36-year-old, who has been training on his own while clubs have been in spring training for a month, will have enough time to build up in order to be ready for Opening Day. The Red Sox will know more once he reports to Fort Myers in the coming days.
Coulombe, an Arizona native, split last season between Minnesota and Texas, dominating with the Twins (1.16 ERA, 31 strikeouts in 31 innings) before being dealt to the Rangers in a deadline deal. In Texas, he struggled to a 5.25 ERA in 12 innings over 15 appearances. He finished the year with a combined 2.30 ERA and 3.30 FIP in 43 total innings.
Before 2025, Coulombe pitched for four clubs, including the Orioles during an impressive two-year stint in 2023 and 2024. For his career, he has made 343 appearances (2 starts) while logging a 3.35 ERA and recording 312 strikeouts. Lefties hit just .225 with a .526 OPS in 78 appearances against him last year; for his career, he has held left-handers to a .233 average and .596 OPS.
Coulombe will likely slide into the role held by Wilson, who pitched 48 ⅓ innings over 61 games and often faced tough lefties in 2025. Wilson remains unsigned and it’s believed he’s leaning toward retirement.
The Red Sox would appear to have five locks for their bullpen in Chapman, setup man Garrett Whitlock, righties Justin Slaten and Greg Weissert and Coulombe — and two other strong candidates in Morán and Zack Kelly. That would leave one open spot for a group of less-heralded pitchers that includes Samaniego, Rule 5 pick Ryan Watson and non-roster invitees Kyle Keller, Tayron Guerrero, Noah Song and Seth Martinez. Watson had the inside track on a roster spot at the beginning of camp due to his Rule 5 status but has struggled in Grapefruit League play.
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