Ottavino agreed Tuesday with the Red Sox on a minor-league contract that includes an invitation to spring training, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
Ottavino pitched for the Red Sox in 2021 prior to spending the last three seasons with the Mets. The veteran reliever held a 4.34 ERA and 70:23 K:BB over 56 innings for New York in 2024 and did not pitch for them in the playoffs. Ottavino can still get right-handed batters out (.536 OPS in 2024) and miss bats (28.6 percent strikeout rate), giving the 39-year-old a decent chance to crack Boston's Opening Day bullpen.
Ottavino is not part of New York's roster for the National League Championship series against the Dodgers.
Ottavino had a rough regular season by his standards, posting a 4.34 ERA and 1.29 WHIP over 60 appearances. He saw few high-leverage opportunities in the second half of the campaign and notched just one hold over his final 20 games. Ottavino's omission from the NLCS roster makes room for the return of Jeff McNeil (wrist), who was added to the roster after ending the regular season on the injured list.
