A veteran left-hander Lucas Luetge He opted out of his minor league contract with the Red Sox and became a free agent, according to Katie Morrison-O’Day of MassLive. The rest originally signed with the Red Sox in February but will now return to free agency in search of a better deal elsewhere.
Luetge, 37, is a seven-season MLB veteran who made his major league debut in 2012 as a member of the Mariners. He spent his time with Seattle hitting the big and minor leagues, during which time he posted a middling 4.35 ERA with a 4.27 FIP in 89 big league innings with a similar 4.21 ERA in 94 appearances in the minors. Although Luetge enjoyed a solid 47.7% groundball rate in the majors during his years in Seattle, a low 19% strikeout rate combined with a high 12.1% walk rate seemed to limit his potential, leaving him off the Mariners’ 40-man roster. in late 2015.
He opted for free agency shortly thereafter but did not return to the majors until 2021, when he joined the Yankees as a member of their bullpen. The lefty enjoyed the best seasons of his career while in the Bronx as he posted a career-best 2.71 ERA with a 2.92 FIP in 129 2/3 innings of career for the club during the 2021 and ’22 seasons. His strikeout rate rose to a solid 25% while he lowered his walk rate to 5.8%. While that improvement was due to his low strikeout rate (39% with the Yankees), the results showed a change in his approach and made it a surprise when the club designated him for assignment during the 2022-23 season.
He was traded to the Braves shortly thereafter and opened the 2023 campaign in their bullpen, though he didn’t last long in Atlanta after allowing eleven runs in 9 2/3 innings of work in his first nine appearances as a Brave. He appeared in the minor leagues but stayed with the club and returned to the majors to throw four scoreless innings in three appearances, but that improvement and his middling work with the Triple-A team (3.75 ERA in 24 innings) were enough to convince the Braves to keep Luetge. in the 2024 campaign.
Back in free agency for the first time since signing with the Yankees, Luetge signed with the Red Sox. He didn’t break into the majors with the club, though he looked impressive in 41 2/3 innings for Triple-A Worcester with a 3.02 ERA and a solid 26.7% strikeout rate. Given the continued interest around the league in left-handed depth, it wouldn’t be surprising if the club saw Luetge’s success in the minor leagues with Boston and his previous success with the Yankees and decided to bring him into the organization, whether as a non-roster depth option in a minor league deal or perhaps as a closer member of the big league bullpen. .
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