Red Sox Release Steven Wright
BOSTON (CBS) -- Steven Wright's days with the Red Sox are over. The team announced that they have released the knuckleballer on Friday.
Wright was projected to make $1.5 million in arbitration for next season, but the team opted to part ways with the pitcher instead. The 35-year-old knuckleballer went 0-1 with an 8.53 ERA in his six games with the Red Sox last season.
Wright was an All-Star for the Red Sox in 2016, finishing the season 13-6 with a 3.33 ERA. But he pitched just 84 innings over the last three seasons due to injuries and a pair of MLB suspensions. He was suspended for 15 games in 2018 for violating the league's policy on domestic violence, and banned for 80 games in 2019 for violating MLB's policy on performance enhancing substances.
Wight was never really the same after injuring his shoulder late in the 2016 season, when John Farrell used one of his more reliable starters as a pinch runner. Wright was hurt diving back to second base on a pickoff attempt, and was just 4-5 with a 4.71 ERA in 31 appearances from 2017-2019.