Blue Jays Sign Former Red Sox Southpaw Felix Doubront to Minor League Deal

Former Red Sox pitcher Felix Doubront is returning to the AL East after signing a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

By Jeff Pini

April 2, 2015

2 minutes to read

After half a season in Chicago, a familiar face is headed back to the American League East.

Former Red Sox southpaw Felix Doubront signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, the team announced on Thursday. Doubront was released by the Chicago Cubs on March 28.

The 27-year-old left-hander signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent in 2004. He was a highly-touted pitching prospect in their farm system, being named the 2009 Portland Sea Dogs Pitcher of the Year and the 2010 Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

After making 23 appearances from 2010 through 2011, Doubront became a full-time member of the Red Sox in 2012, starting 29 games and going 11-10 with a 4.86 ERA. A starter for the entirety of the 2013 season, Doubront was moved to the bullpen for the postseason – a decision he was not happy about – but had two strong appearances in the World Series: throwing two shutouts innings in relief of Jake Peavy in Game 3, while allowing just one run in 2 2/3 frames after coming on for Clay Buchholz in Game 4.

In his final season with the Red Sox, Doubront made 17 appearances – 10 of them starts – while going 2-4 with a 6.07 ERA. He spent a month on the disabled list with a left shoulder injury he sustained when he “bumped [it] on a car door.’’ He was dealt to the Cubs on July 30 for a player to be named later that eventually became minor leaguer Marco Hernandez. Doubront made just four starts with the Cubs after the trade, going 2-1 with a 3.98 ERA.

One of Doubront’s issues with the Red Sox was his efficiency. Though he put up solid numbers as a starter, he had trouble going deep into ballgames, leaving the Sox to have to dive into their bullpen sooner than they would like to. In 69 career starts with the Red Sox, he averaged under 5 2/3 innings per start.

This spring, Doubront made four appearances for the Cubs before his release, allowing nine earned runs on 17 hits with no walks and four strikeouts in seven total innings, with most of the damage coming in a six-run outing on March 12 against the Los Angeles Angels.

A fresh start could be what Doubront needs to get his career back on track. The Blue Jays rotation took a hit earlier this spring when Marcus Stroman was lost for the season after tearing his ACL. Their projected starters include two rookies in Daniel Norris and Aaron Sanchez, and if a starter goes down with an injury or proves to be ineffective, Doubront could be an option to get the nod.