As they await opportunities to rid their payroll of some top-heavy salaries, the Red Sox announced on Friday a series of low-level signings — and one waiver claim — designed more to improve the bottom of their roster and improve organizational depth.
The Sox signed eight minor league free agents and extended them invitations to major league spring training camp.
The eight are:
- RHP R.J. Alvarez. Alvarez, 28, has appeared in 31 major league games in his career, split between the Padres and A's. Last season, he pitched at Miami's Triple A affiliate in New Orleans, making 50 appearances and posting a 4.70 ERA with 15 saves and 65 strikeouts in 53.2 innings. He held right-handed hitters to a .215 batting average.
- OF John Andreoli. Splitting last season between the Triple A affiliates of the Twins and Mariners, Andreoli, 29, hit .255 with 16 homers and 47 RBI, playing all three outfield positions. Andreoli made his major league debut with the Orioles. He's a native of Worcester who starred at Saint John's in Shrewsbury and is a cousin of former Red Sox reliever Daniel Bard and the son of former New England Patriot John Andreoli.
- C Jeff Bandy. Bandy, 29, has spent parts of four seasons in the big leagues, playing for the Angels (2015-16) and Brewers (2017-18) and is a .218 career hitter with 16 homers. He spent all of last season with Nashville (Triple A affiliate of the Texas Rangers) and hit .231 with 13 homers and a .773 OPS. In the majors, he's thrown out 31.6 percent of would-be base stealers over 141 games.
- LHP Mike Kickham. Kickham, 31, spent all of last year with New Orleans (AAA) and was 4-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 18 relief appearances while posting a 1-4 mark with a 4.53 ERA in 13 starts. Kickham made three major league starts with the Giants in 2013-14. He's 46-54 with a 4.o6 ERA in his minor league career.
- RHP Robinson Leyer. Leyer is actually being re-signed after spending the second half of last year in the Sox' organization. Leyer, 26, was 0-1 with a 3.04 ERA over 15 appearances at Double A Portland. He's also spent time in the minor leagues with the White Sox, Mariners, and Reds.
- 1B/OF Nick Longhi. Longhi, too, has Red Sox ties, having been drafted by the organization in 2013 before being traded to Cincinnati in 2017 for international pool money. In 555 career games in the minors, split between the two organizations, Longhi, 24, is a career .275 hitters with 31 homers. He posted a .798 OPS in 111 games for Triple A Louisville.
- RHP Domingo Tapia. Tapia, 28, is the third player on the list to have already played in the Sox' system. He was a non-roster invitee last year, too and spent all of last year at Pawtucket, where in 44 games, he was 5-4 with a 5.18 ERA. He's also spent time with the Reds and Mets in the minors.
- 3B/1B Jantzen Witte. Witte, 29, was the Red Sox' 24th round pick in 2013 and has spent his entire pro career in Boston's organization. Between Portland and Pawtucket last year, he batted .271 with nine homers. He's also briefly played second and left field, though first and third are his primary positions.
Chris Mazza