With the World Series now over, MLB now turns to its offseason when player transactions will start coming at a breakneck pace. The Boston Red Sox got started quickly, making a decision on a 6-foot-6 right-hander who seems to fit the organization’s recent preference for big-bodied pitchers.
The Red Sox re-signed right-hander Patrick Halligan on Friday, retaining a reliever who piled up 102 strikeouts across two levels in 2026.
The move keeps a Triple-A arm in the organization ahead of minor league free agency, though Boston has not said whether Halligan will receive a major league spring training invite, according to Worcester Telegram & Gazette reporter Tommy Cassell.
Cassell also reported that the club re-signed left-hander Michael Sansone to a minor league deal. Right-hander Angel Bastardo returned earlier in the week, and his agreement included a non-roster invite to major league camp.
Patrick Halligan Contract Terms and Spring Training Outlook
No salary, length or incentive details have surfaced for the agreement, which follows the standard template for a minor league deal. Boston has used that format to hold onto organizational pitching depth before arms reach the open market.
Unlike Bastardo, Halligan has no reported invitation to big league camp. His original January signing with Boston also came without one, and the second agreement follows that same pattern.
The Red Sox have shown a recent preference for large-bodied pitchers, and Halligan is listed at 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds. He gives Worcester and Portland a reliever with experience at both levels.
Patrick Halligan Career Stats and Scouting Report
Halligan was born Oct. 4, 1999, in Vienna, Virginia, and is now 27. He bats and throws right-handed.
He starred at George C. Marshall High School in Falls Church, Virginia, where he played baseball for four years and basketball for three. As a senior, he posted a 1.00 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 55 innings and hit .425 with four home runs.
Halligan spent 2019 and 2020 at George Mason University before transferring to Pensacola State College in Florida. In 2021, he went 7-3 with a 1.87 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 81 2/3 innings. The Kansas City Royals drafted him in the 13th round, 379th overall, and signed him for a $132,500 bonus.
He worked through Rookie ball, Single-A Columbia and High-A Quad Cities with Kansas City, with a brief stop at Triple-A Omaha, before the Royals released him in 2023. The Atlanta Braves picked him up, and he pitched at High-A Rome, Double-A Mississippi and Columbus, and briefly Triple-A Gwinnett. Atlanta traded him to the Houston Astros in April 2025 as the player to be named later in the Rafael Montero deal.
Houston used him mostly at Double-A Corpus Christi, where he posted a 3.48 ERA over 35 games and 51 2/3 innings, with a short stint at Triple-A Sugar Land. He elected free agency after the 2025 season and also pitched in Puerto Rican winter ball.
Boston signed him Jan. 12, 2026. He split the year between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, going 4-3 with a 4.66 ERA in 39 games, including two starts. He recorded seven saves, struck out 102 batters in 77 1/3 innings and finished with a 1.27 WHIP. Halligan earned Eastern League Pitcher of the Week honors for May 11-17 and, as depth needs shifted in July and August, moved between levels multiple times.
His career minor league ERA sits at 4.41 over roughly 265 to 342 2/3 innings. He has reached Triple-A with four organizations — the Royals, Braves, Astros and Red Sox.
SoxProspects describes his fastball as sitting around 92 mph, with a plus splitter and a fringy slider. The March 2026 scouting report notes an easy, high three-quarter delivery with some deception, but below-average command and little projection left in his frame. It frames him as an organizational pitcher who could become an emergency up-and-down bullpen option if his strike-throwing improves.
Red Sox Announce Decision on 6-Foot-6 Pitcher as Offseason Begins