Meet new Red Sox pitchers Rick Porcello and Justin Masterson
The Red Sox began rebuilding their pitching staff on Thursday with the acquisition of pitchers Rick Porcello and Justin Masterson, who was with the team from 2006 to 2009. A deal is in place to also add pitcher Wade Miley, but it is not finalized.
Here's a closer look at the team's newest additions:
Rick Porcello
Biometrics
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Porcello is a 6-5, 200 pound righthander.
Major League debut
A high school draft pick of the Detroit Tigers, Porcello debuted with the Tigers in April of 2009 at age 20. Porcello, now a six-year veteran, has helped the Tigers to three postseason appearances.
High school career
Ranked as the No. 1 high school prospect in the 2007 MLB Draft, some believe his draft stock dropped because he chose Scott Boras as an agent, who is known for his tough negotiating tactics. He was eventually selected No. 27 overall by the Tigers.
Porcello attended Seton Hall Preparatory School in West Orange, N.J. In his senior season, the righthander posted a 10-0 record, struck out 103 batters and had a 1.44 ERA in 63 innings pitched.
He threw a perfect game on May 12, 2007 against Newark Academy. Throughout his high school career, Porcello allowed multiple hits in a game just once.
A major league player at age 20
The youngest player in Major League Baseball in 2009, Tigers manager Jim Leyland chose Porcello to start the American League Central tiebreaker game. He pitched 5.2 innings and allowed just one earned run. Detroit prevailed in 12 innings.
Career highlights
In 2009, Porcello finished third in American League rookie of the year voting, behind Andrew Bailey of the Oakland Athletics and Elvis Andrus of the Texas Rangers. He went 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA that season.
Porcello was considered to have the potential to develop into a front-line starter and potentially even a staff's ace. But in a rotation that included multiple Cy Young award-winners in Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, Porcello did not have the opportunity.
After his rookie season, Porcello posted an ERA over 4.00 for straight seasons from 2010-2013.
Until 2013, Porcello wore uniform No. 48, but when Detroit acquired veteran outfield Torii Hunter that offseason, Hunter offered to pay Porcello for the number, which Hunter had worn throughout his career. Porcello, a native of New Jersey, asked Hunter to donate the money to victims of Hurricane Sandy. He changed his number to 21.
Last season Porcello became the first Tigers' pitcher to throw back-to-back shutouts since Jack Morris in 1986. On June 26, Porcello allowed three hits and struck out six Rangers in a 6-0 win, and followed it with a no-walk, 95-pitch shutout of the Athletics on July 1, a 3-0 victory for Detroit.
Porcello famously fought with the Red Sox' Kevin Youkilis in 2009 after he hit Youkilis with a pitch in a game at Fenway Park. Both players were ejected, and later suspended for the clash. Watch video of the incident on MLB.com.
Justin Masterson
Biometrics
Masterson is a 6-6, 250-pound righthander known for his low three-quarter arm release and sinking fastball, which can reach 97 mph.
A return to the Red Sox
Masterson, a second-round draft pick of the Red Sox in 2006, is headed back to Boston after playing for the Cleveland Indians from 2009 to 2014 and the St. Louis Cardinals in the second half of last season. The righthander's best year was in 2011 for Cleveland, where he posted a 3.21 ERA and 4.1 WAR.
Where he's from
Masterson was born in Kingston, Jamaica, where his father was working as the Dean of Students at Jamaica Theological Seminary. Later he relocated to Fort Wayne, Ind., and attended Beavercreek High School in Beavercreek, Ohio.
Masterson was drafted out of San Diego State University and competed in the Cape Cod Baseball League in 2005, where he saved 10 games for Wareham while posting a 1.15 ERA.
Career highlights
In parts of two seasons pitching for the Red Sox, Masterson went 9-8 with a 3.76 ERA, 4.29 FIP and 1.28 WHIP. He was the first Red Sox pitcher since 1912 to make his first four starts and not lose a single one.
Masterson earned his first postseason victory with the Red Sox, pitching a scoreless ninth inning in an 8-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of the 2008 American League Championship Series.
On July 31, 2009, Masterson was traded to the Indians along with Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price for catcher Victor Martinez.
In 2010, Masterson made the most putouts (22) of any pitcher in baseball, but also committed the most errors (5). Masterson allowed just 0.46 home runs per nine innings in 2011, second-best in MLB.
In 2013, he was voted to the All-Star Game. He finished the season with three shutouts, the most in baseball that season.
Masterson pitched an immaculate inning on June 2 against the Red Sox, striking out Jonny Gomes, Grady Sizemore, and Stephen Drew in a row on nine pitches.
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Richard Morin can be reached at ricky.morin@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @BigRickMorin. Correspondent Christopher Frangolini contributed to this report.
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