On Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox reportedly signed veteran pitcher Tommy Kahnle, a relief pitcher who has mainly pitched for the New York Yankees in his 11-year career. The news was first broken by Jon Heyman of the New York Post. In 2025, Kahnle pitched for the Detroit Tigers, and the right-hander didn’t fare well. In 63 innings, he had an ERA of 4.43, walking 31 batters and striking out 50. Boston signed Kahnle to a minor league deal, so he most likely won’t be on the Opening Day roster. However, there is a chance he could slide into the bullpen at some point this season.
Report: Tommy Kahnle to the Red Sox
What He Brings
Kahnle’s best years have come with the Yankees. While his ERA and lack of record may be concerning, there’s plenty to look at. In 2024, he held batters to a .190 batting average as well as striking out 25.7% of batters he faced. In 2025 with the Tigers, he didn’t do awful in those categories, but it was a noticeable change, holding opponents to a .217 average and striking out 18.7% of batters. He also gets a lot of ground balls, with his GB% being 47.6% in 2025 and 58.9% in 2024. His GB/FB (ground ball/fly ball ratio) was 0.91 in 2025, which is slightly below average. In 2024, he had a 1.47 ratio. He’s a ground ball pitcher.
Tommy Kahnle to Red Sox. Minors deal.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 17, 2026
He also dominates against righties, with a .194 average. And the deeper he gets in a count (for the most part), the more he does well. He’s cool under pressure in at bats. Overall, the surface stats may be troublesome, but the advanced stats show his worth.
As far as pitch types go, Kahnle works with a four-seamer, a changeup, and a slider. The fastball is in the low-90’s, while the changeup and slider average around 86 MPH. His changeup is his punchout pitch, getting 41 of his strikeouts off it. It also produces a 26.4% whiff rate.
Where Does Tommy Kahnle Fit?
While with Detroit, Kahnle took the form of a setup man/closer type role. While with the Yankees, he was a short-inning reliever. With Garrett Whitlock being the setup guy in Boston, if Kahnle were to come up to the majors this season, he would more likely take the short-inning role again. He did finish 2025 with 16 holds, so he is a valuable reliever in smaller outputs. But issues about his heavy reliance on his changeup (85.6% of his pitches) could cause concerns with him. If the coaching staff can help him like they helped Aroldis Chapman, who will continue to close for Boston this year, this is a good addition.
Main Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
