The Red Sox are adding a former first-round pick to their player pool.
The team announced Tuesday that it has acquired righty reliever Dylan Covey from the Rays, putting the Sox' player pool at 59 participants. Lefty relief pitcher Bobby Poyner has been removed from the player pool but remains in the organization. The acquisition for Covey was made possible because of an opt-out clause in his minor-league deal with the Rays that kicked if they didn't place him on the 40-man roster.
Covey spent the last three seasons with the White Sox before joining Tampa Bay. In four Grapefruit League appearances he 28-year-old gave up four runs on 10 hits over 7 2/3 innings. He has also served as a starter throughout his three-year big-league career, starting in 45 of his 63 appearances with Chicago.
Last season Covey went 1-8 with a 7.98 ERA, making 12 starts in 18 appearances.
Covey was the 14th overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft by Milwaukee, who came up short in the high-schooler's asking price of a $2 million signing bonus. It was discovered during his post-Draft physical that he had Type 1 diabetes. The pitcher ended up performing at the University of San Diego before ultimately being drafted in the fourth round by Oakland.
