BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox on Friday agreed to terms with relief pitcher Heath Hembree. The one-year deal means salary arbitration is avoided.
Dave Dombrowski, Red Sox President of Baseball Operations, made the announcement.
Hembree, 29, is a right-hander who was especially tough on left-handed hitters last season, holding them to a career-low .186 batting average.
He's made more than 60 appearances in each of the last two seasons.
Also in 2018, Hembree averaged 11.4 strikeouts per 9 innings.
Originally signed by San Francisco in 2010, Hembree was traded to the Red Sox in July 2014.
He has a career 3.46 ERA with 226 strikeouts in 204 Major League Baseball appearances.
The Hembree signing leaves 10 remaining unsigned Sox players eligible for arbitration. They are: Matt Barnes, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Brock Holt, Sandy Leon, Eduardo Rodriguez, Blake Swihart, Brandon Workman and Steven Wright.