Red Sox steal fan favorite Yankees reliever (and it'll be infuriating to lose to him)

Unlike the New York Mets, the Boston Red Sox have done a phenomenal job in recent years of perfectly balancing their impulse to troll the Yankees and their attempts to compete. Boston's roster and ecosystem is equal part "talented players" and "Yankees-related pieces with a grudge". The Mets? They're 95% grudges. It's not working.

Naturally, with just over a week to go before Opening Day, Boston made another minor roster shuffle on Tuesday, securing Tommy Kahnle on a minor-league deal. Most of the impetus was probably opportunity cost. How often can you get a reliever like Kahnle, a setup man on the 2024 American League champions, on a minor-league flyer this late in the spring? Just a few days after securing valuable left-hander Danny Coulombe?

Of course, they are also well aware that Kahnle's a Brian Cashman favorite, and has been ridden into the ground in multiple different quadrants of his regime. Originally drafted by the Yankees, Kahnle was swiped by the Rockies in the 2013 Rule 5 Draft, broke out with the White Sox, and came back to the Bronx alongside David Robertson and Todd Frazier in the masterstroke that re-energized the 2017 season.

He succumbed to Tommy John surgery when MLB attempted its bizarre summer restart in 2020, and after the Dodgers paid for his rehabilitation, the Yankees brought him back in 2023. He was excellent in 40 2/3 innings that season, and identically great in 2024 (42 2/3 innings, 46 Ks, 2.11 ERA).

Unfortunately, he ran aground in the postseason, discarding his fastball entirely and spamming changeups against the World Series champion Dodgers, neutering the pitch. It was Kahnle who blew the final lead in Game 5 of the Fall Classic, and Kahnle who defected to the Tigers (after rebuffing interest from the Red Sox).

Tommy Kahnle joins Red Sox after tale of two seasons in Detroit

Kahnle was spectacular in the first three months of the season, with monthly ERAs of 0.77, 2.08, and 2.45. When July hit, he melted, with a 19.64 ERA across seven outings that month souring his season beyond repair.

His best days are behind him, but this is the definition of no-risk for Boston. Furthermore, knowing the Yankees failed to address their bullpen this season (outside of Cade Winquest and Angel Chivilli), then watching Boston work the phones to nab Coulombe and Kahnle while Cashman slept, is another layer of infuriation.

Kahnle's last chapter in the Bronx was a dim on, but watching him let out a celebratory roar will (checks scholarly notes, references bibliography) suck tremendously.