The seemingly never-ending trend of “ex-Yankees pitchers becoming Red Sox relievers” has gained yet another name. And, as we saw last season, while Nick Burdi’s potential flashes brightly, it’s unlikely to last over the long haul.
There’s a possibility Burdi pans out in Boston. It’s a similar gamble to the one the Yankees took last year when they gave him an Opening Day roster spot, banking on his high-velocity fastball and sharp breaking pitches. In 2024, Burdi posted the best regular-season numbers of his MLB career, including a 1.86 ERA and a strikeout rate of over 11 per nine innings. Still, he didn’t pitch beyond May 23 against Seattle — easy math, given that he only threw 9 2/3 innings all year.
Now promoted by the Red Sox, Burdi is looking for a fresh start after an injury-riddled season with the Yankees. It’s a tough story — he’s only 32, but has already undergone Tommy John surgery twice, in 2017 and again after trying to avoid it following the 2020 season. After a brief stint with the Cubs in 2023 was cut short by an emergency appendectomy, Burdi’s time in New York last season was again disrupted — a hip injury sidelined him for a month, and he later landed on the 60-day IL with recurring inflammation.
While his surface stats looked great, deeper numbers like a 5.44 FIP and 1.448 WHIP suggested trouble was likely ahead had he stayed healthy. Still, he’s been dominant so far this year with the WooSox, boasting a 0.54 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings. Maybe this time, he’ll catch fire in Boston — that seems to happen more often there than in the Bronx.
Regardless of how it plays out, the Red Sox deserve credit for thinking outside the box. Burdi has earned another chance, and Boston made the necessary roster moves to give it to him.
That said, they also deserve some criticism for continuing to raid the Yankees’ scrapheap. It’s starting to feel repetitive. Still, good luck to Burdi — and to fellow ex-Yanks Garrett Whitlock, Richard Fitts, Aroldis Chapman, and Greg Weissert.
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