The Boston Red Sox have lost another depth arm from their minor league system, as Red Sox free agent reliever Zach Bryant has signed with the Texas Rangers after working his way back from Tommy John surgery. Just two years removed from the Rangers’ first World Series title in franchise history, Texas is still searching for bullpen help heading into 2026, and that search now includes the ex‑Red Sox right‑hander.
The Rangers finished 81–81 last season, and their inconsistent bullpen was a major reason they failed to return to the postseason. Looking for low‑cost relief depth, Texas turned to the Red Sox organization and targeted Bryant, a 27‑year‑old righty who spent most of the last two years rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. According to a report from Andrew Parker of SoxProspects.com, shared on X, Bryant has agreed to a minor league deal with the Rangers.
This latest move comes less than two weeks after Texas signed minor league veteran left‑handed reliever Blake Townsend out of the Pittsburgh Pirates system, another under‑the‑radar bullpen addition aimed at stabilizing the Rangers’ relief corps. By adding Bryant, the Rangers are taking a flier on a former Boston Red Sox arm who flashed strikeout stuff before elbow trouble and now profiles as depth that could impact the big‑league bullpen later in 2026. For Red Sox fans tracking minor league departures, Bryant’s signing is another example of Boston losing organizational pitching depth to a contender.
Players who have spent at least six seasons in the minor leagues and are not on a team’s 40‑man roster at season’s end may elect free agency, opening the door to sign with any other organization. That is exactly the path Bryant took after five years in the Red Sox system and an earlier stint with the Chicago Cubs, choosing to become a minor league free agent on November 6, the first day eligible players could do so, before ultimately landing with the Rangers on February 5.
Missed 2023 With Tommy John Surgery
Drafted by the Cubs in the 15th round in 2019 and signed with a $125,000 bonus after pitching one season at Jacksonville University in Florida, Bryant’s minor league career got off to a solid start.
Between the Cubs Rookie League and Low Single-A levels, the right-hander recorded a sparkling 1.27 ERA in 12 games, all in relief. In fact, Bryant has always been a relief specialist, going back to his days at Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange, Florida, where he served as the team’s closer.
But he missed an entire season in 2020 as the minor leagues closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then before he had a chance to get back to the Cubs, in February 2021 Chicago traded him to the Red Sox as a player to be named later in a deal for veteran lefty pitcher Josh Osich.
Bryant pitched well enough in 2021 to earn a promotion to the Portland Sea Dogs, the Red Sox’s Double-A affiliate, but his 2022 season was limited to just 33 innings with a 7.64 ERA thanks to an elbow injury. Tommy John surgery followed, and Bryant missed the entire 2023 season.
Comeback Proceeding in Bumpy Fashion
Bryant returned to the mound on May 21, 2024, with the Rookie-level Red Sox of the Florida Complex League, finally returning to Portland one month later.
Last season was Bryant’s first full campaign since his surgery, and it did not go according to plan.
“Bryant, who is in his age-27 season, has had an up-and-down campaign that has featured more downs than ups,” wrote Nick John of TalkSox.com, reviewing the pitcher’s season. “August was his worst month of the season, however, as he struggled in 10 1/3 innings pitched. In that span, he surrendered 15 runs, 11 of them earned, on 14 hits and nine walks for a 9.58 ERA. His WHIP in that span was also 2.23. The only positive for him in August was striking out 12 batters, but otherwise, there wasn’t much to write home about for Bryant.”
Finishing the season with a 6.14 ERA over 48 1/3 innings in 32 games, the comeback season was a disaster for Bryant.
Though Bryant, despite growing up entirely in Florida, is a lifelong Red Sox fan, he apparently saw that his time with the team was at an end and now will get another chance — one more year removed from Tommy John surgery — in Texas with the Rangers.
Rangers Sign Ex‑Boston Red Sox Righty Reliever After Tommy John Comeback