Red Sox bring back hard-throwing member of 2020 bullpen on minor-league deal

The Red Sox used 30 different pitchers during their horrible, no good, shortened 2020 season. Tanner Houck is no longer the only one who will suit up for the organization in 2025.

Boston has agreed to bring back right-handed reliever Robert Stock, who pitched 10 games for the club in 2020, on a minor league deal with an invitation to major league spring training, a source confirmed Tuesday. The news was first reported by Stock’s winter team in Mexico, the Naranjeros de Hermosillo, who announced he was traveling stateside for a physical exam.

Stock, 35, has made 55 appearances with four different teams since debuting in 2018. Five seasons ago with the Red Sox, he logged a 4.73 ERA in 10 games, allowing nine runs (seven earned) on 16 hits in 13 ⅓ innings for the last-place club. In that span, he struck out 14 and walked 10. Stock got a cup of coffee with the Cubs and Mets in 2021 but hasn’t pitched in the majors since then.

Stock spent 2022 with the Doosan Bears in Korea, then split 2023 between the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville and the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks. He has been in Mexico for all of 2024 and was dominating in winter ball as a starter, posting a 1.60 ERA while striking out 78 batters in 84 ⅓ innings. He made 19 starts during the regular season for Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos and posted a 3.38 ERA.

Stock has always thrown hard with a unique arm angle. Back in 2020, his fastball averaged 96.8 mph, good for the 97th percentile in all of baseball. At this point, the former second round pick — and stellar Twitter/X user — is simply a flier for depth purposes. He joins Isaiah Campbell, Michael Fulmer, Bryan Mata, Wyatt Mills and Austin Adams as known non-roster pitchers who will be in camp, which starts in mid-February.