Red Sox sign Sterling Sharp to minor-league deal

The Red Sox have signed free-agent right-hander Sterling Sharp to a minor-league contract, according to the team’s transactions log. He has been assigned to Double-A Portland, per his MLB.com player page.

Sharp, 27, had spent the entirety of the 2022 season with the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate in Rochester, N.Y, posting a 6.61 and 4.79 FIP with 59 strikeouts to 30 walks over 18 appearances (13 starts) spanning 66 2/3 innings of work before being released last Friday.

A former 22nd-round pick of the Nationals out of Division II Drury University (Springfield, Mo.) in 2016, Sharp was once regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in Washington’s farm system. After being left off the Nats’ 40-man roster at the conclusion of the 2019 season, though, the Michigan native was scooped up by the Marlins in the Rule 5 Draft.

The following summer, Sharp made his major-league debut for Miami during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He made all of four relief appearances, allowing a total of seven runs (six earned) on seven hits, five walks, and three strikeouts across 5 1/3 innings before getting designated for assignment on August 24. Three days later, he was returned to the Nationals.

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 182 pounds, Sharp is known for his ability to induce groundballs. He operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a heavily-used sinker, a four-seam fastball, a changeup, and a curveball, according to Baseball Savant.

Considering that he already accrued over 137 innings at the Triple-A level, it should be interesting to see how long Sharp’s stint in Portland will last before he presumably makes his way up to Worcester to provide the WooSox with pitching depth.