Boston Red Sox Contact Orioles Free Agent Pitcher John Means: Report

The Baltimore Orioles could lose free agent pitcher John Means, who is dealing with an elbow injury, to a division rival.

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The Baltimore Orioles could lose a former All-Star free agent starting pitcher to one of their most hated rivals.

According to a report from Chris Cotillo of Mass Live, the Boston Red Sox have been in contact with Orioles left-handed pitcher John Means.

The last three years have been absolutely brutal for Means after he looked like he had the makings of a future ace during his All-Star campaign in 2019. Over the last three seasons, Means has made a total of just 10 starts and had his second Tommy John surgery in May.

Means is going to be out for most of the 2025 season, but there is a chance that he will be able to return and contribute to a team during the year if he winds up somewhere that could use starting pitching once he is healthy.

A seven-year veteran in Baltimore, Means posted seasons in 2019 and 2021 that were extremely promising. In 31 appearances and 27 starts in 2019, Means posted a 3.60 ERA and a record of 12-11. Two years later after an shortened 2020 season, he put up another respectable 3.62 ERA while making 26 starts with a better strikeout rate than he had in 2019.

Even in those successful campaigns, Means suffered through injuries and spent stints on the injured list. His first Tommy John was performed in April of 2022 and after having trouble while recovering, he had the second procedure.

Over the last three years, Means has actually performed well albeit in extremely limited action. Over those 10 starts, he has posted a 2.75 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 52.1 innings.

Seeing Boston end up being able to get something out of Means would sting tremendously, but the team gave him permission to hit the open market after all the bad injury luck in Baltimore. And if he is able to get his career back on track no matter if it was with a rival, Orioles fans would likely be happy for him after seeing his struggles over the years.

For his total career in Baltimore, Means has made 73 starts and 78 appearances and has a 3.68 career ERA with 334 strikeouts in 401 innings pitched.