Red Sox Release Tyler Thornburg After Latest Refusal of Minor League Assignment

The Red Sox have finally made a long overdue move.

After a slew of time spent recovering from injury and an abysmal 2019 campaign, Boston has officially released reliever Tyler Thornburg, who rejected his minor league assignment earlier in the week.

Red Sox announce they’ve released RHP Tyler Thornburg
— Jen McCaffrey (@jcmccaffrey) July 10, 2019

Thornburg came over to the Red Sox ahead of the 2017 season in exchange for Travis Shaw, Mauricio Dubon, Josh Pennington and Yeison Coca, but he failed to live up to expectations.

He struggled with injury and missed the entire 2017 season after undergoing surgery on his throwing shoulder. He made 25 appearances in 2018, but struggled mightily, posting a 5.63 ERA.

Then 2019 rolled around and the wheels came flying off of the wagon. In 16 appearances this season, he posted a grotesque 7.71 ERA while pitching to the tune of a 1.66 WHIP.

Boston Red Sox release Tyler Thornburg (7.71 ERA), who was acquired in 2016 trade with Brewers for Travis Shaw, Mauricio Dubon https://t.co/ZJmPJ2D366
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) July 10, 2019

His release brings his tenure in Boston to a merciful end. Over the course of his Red Sox career, he was worth -0.4 fWAR. He provided absolutely no value to the team.

Now he's free to pursue other options, though they might be tough to come by after his abysmal performance with the Red Sox.