Danny Kirwin Lands Red Sox Contract After Video Throwing 98 MPH with Oakland Ballers

The Boston Red Sox reached a contract agreement with Oakland Ballers pitcher Danny Kirwin on Tuesday.

Kirwin has been clocked at 98 mph on his fastball while pitching for the Ballers, an independent team brought to Oakland in response to the Athletics' planned move to Las Vegas. The team posted a video of the pitcher throwing a bullpen session on Saturday.

Kirwin is the first Ballers player to sign with an MLB club. He played minor league baseball at Rider University, posting a 2.32 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 50.1 innings in 2023 before going undrafted.

"This is exactly what we wanted to happen," assistant general manager Tyler Petersen told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. "In fact, we sort of had an idea that we might lose one or two guys before camp even started, and Danny's been working so hard for this opportunity that I'm not surprised that happened."

No terms of Kirwin's contract with the Red Sox have been made available.