Red Sox agree to terms with pitcher Terry Doyle

SoxProspects.com has learned that the Red Sox have agreed to terms with New England native Terry Doyle on a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. Doyle, a right-handed pitcher, last pitched for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of the Japanese Pacific League after four and a half seasons in the Chicago White Sox system.

Doyle, who will be 27 this season, was selected by the White Sox in the 37th round of the 2008 draft out of Boston College. Having advanced as high as Triple-A Charlotte, with whom he spent the first half of 2012, going 6-3 with a 2.83 ERA in 12 appearances, 11 starts. He allowed 53 hits and 18 walks in 76 1/3 innings while striking out 71 before asking for his release to sign with Fukuoka.

Doyle throws four pitches, typically sitting in the high 80s up to the low 90s with his fastball, which comes in both two-seam and four-seam varieties. He also throws a curveball, slider, and changeup. Doyle will compete for a spot on the Boston roster, but is likely ticketed for the Pawtucket staff to start the year.

Doyle was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Minnesota Twins last season, but was returned to the White Sox before the start of the season. Since Doyle has not been added to Boston's 40-man roster, it is possible that he could be selected again. A slow, but steady, riser through the White Sox system, Doyle turned in a breakout performance in the Arizona Fall League in 2011, going 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA in eight starts, allowing 12 hits and five walks while striking out 22 in 27 1/3 innings of work.

Doyle has strong ties to the New England region. Doyle played his high school ball in Salem, N.H., is a graduate of Boston College, and his family presently lives in Warwick, R.I., just up the road from McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket. He is a veteran of the Cape Cod League, having thrown a no-hitter with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in 2006. He also gained some notoriety during his time in the minors by working as a substitute teacher in Rhode Island during the offseason.

Photo credit: Terry Doyle by Ron Deshaies/Charlotte Knights

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