Red Sox sign speedster Jake MacKenzie, five other undrafted players

The Sox also landed Jacinto Arredondo, an unconventional closer from the University of Tampa.

The 5-foot-9-inch righthander from Center Hill, Fla., hops off the rubber and drags his foot while throwing a mid-90s fastball.

It works well. Arredondo had a 1.95 ERA in two seasons at the school with seven saves. Arredondo was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Division 2 national tournament in 2019, recording two wins and a save as Tampa won the championship.

Two other righthanders also chose the Sox: Jordan DiValerio of Saint Joseph’s and Graham Hoffman of South Florida.

DiValerio, from Nescopeck, Pa., was 10-10 with a 3.97 ERA over four seasons. He had 33 strikeouts over 22⅔ innings this year and allowed six earned runs on 16 hits.

DiValerio beat No. 24 Ohio State in the season opener, throwing five shutout innings and striking out nine with one walk.

Hoffman, a redshirt sophomore from Tampa, missed all but one game in 2019 because of Tommy John surgery. He pitched only 20⅓ innings over three seasons with the Bulls and had a 5.31 ERA.

Catcher Juan Montero from the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy also signed with the Red Sox. That school produced Sox catcher Christian Vazquez.

Montero, who is from Ponce, is a righthanded hitter with good defensive skills. He had planned to attend Kansas City Community College.

Florida International catcher and first baseman Jose Garcia joined the Sox after hitting .278 with 25 home runs and 90 RBIs over three seasons and 117 games. The 5-10, 225-pound righthanded hitter is a Miami native.

Undrafted players were limited to $20,000 bonuses — plus education expenses — under new rules this season.

The agreements for Arredondo, Garcia, Hoffman, and MacKenzie were announced by their schools. Baseball America reported the deals for DiValerio and Montero.