Meet The New Guy: Wyatt Mills

Who is he and where did he come from?

He’s Wyatt Mills, sidearmer, Gonzaga alum, and guy who shares the same badass cowboy name with an LA-based artist who specializes in abstract portraiture that straddles the line between pop art and neo-expressionism:

The Red Sox acquired him in a trade, sending Lawrence, MA native and UCONN alum Jacob Wallace the other way and DFA-ing Eric Hosmer to make room on the 40-man roster.

What position does he play?

He’s a right-handed middle reliever, the least interesting role on a baseball team, made slightly more interesting by virtue of his throwing motion.

Is he any good?

As a big leaguer, he’s been horrible, as evidenced by the fact that he’s already 27-years-old but has only thrown 42 total innings. HOWEVER! . . . he’s shown promise throughout his climb up the minor league ranks, maintaining a groundball rate over 50% at every level and putting up a 2.60 ERA over 62.1 AAA innings.

He’s a tall sidewinder with a low release point that looks like it would be hell on righties. Like most relievers, he’s a slider-fastball guy, and while righties struggle to make good contact off him, lefties have absolutely destroyed him to the tune of a .365/.397/.596 slash line. In other words, he turns every lefty he faces into Juan Soto.

Show me a cool highlight.

Here’s an extended look at him in the minors, taken a few years ago from right behind home plate. How the hell do any right-handed batters hit him??

What’s his role on the 2023 Red Sox?

He’ll get a chance to win a back-end-of-the-bullpen job in Spring Training, but otherwise start the year in Worcester and make his debut when someone gets hurt.