We've yet to see Tommy Kahnle throw a major league pitch in a Boston Red Sox uniform. Quite soon, we'll find out if that's ever going to happen.
Kahnle, the 11-year major league veteran who signed with the Red Sox toward the end of spring training, has been quietly dominating the competition in Triple-A. Entering Sunday, he owned a 1.40 ERA in 19 1/3 innings for the Worcester Red Sox. He also doesn't intend to stay in Worcester any longer.
Kahnle's minor-league contract with the Red Sox included a June 1 opt-out if he hadn't yet been added to the major league roster. That means sometime in the next day or so, we'll learn whether Kahnle is coming to the active roster or headed out to test free agency.
There's little reason for Kahnle to stick around in the organization with those statistics if the Red Sox don't want him on the active roster. So it hardly counts as a surprise that on Saturday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported that Kahnle "100 percent" intended to opt out if the Red Sox didn't call him up.
Interim manager Chad Tracy, who managed Kahnle for the first month of the season before taking over for the fired Alex Cora in the majors, also spoke on Kahnle's impending opt-out.
“I know there are dates coming up,” Tracy said, per Cotillo. “Our front office, they’re always aware of that. We’re well-aware of who he is, what he’s done and his performance down there.”
Kahnle was a name on the Red Sox's radar in free agency seemingly every year so far this decade. It would be almost unthinkable for the Sox to finally sign him, watch him excel in the minors, and not give him the shot to pitch in what has become a fairly depleted major league bullpen.
The relievers with options in the Red Sox's bullpen are Justin Slaten (not gonna happen), Tyler Samaniego (might actually happen), and Greg Weissert (definitely should happen). Boston also would need to open up a spot on the 40-man roster.