One of the longest-tenured pitchers in the Boston Red Sox organization has never pitched an inning in the major leagues.
And now, he's leaving.
His name is Bryan Mata, and you'd be forgiven for not knowing who he is.
But his story is quite remarkable. He has spent the past 10 seasons pitching at various levels of the Boston system.
That won't be true in 2026. Mata has signed a contract to pitch in Japan's NPB, according to MassLive's Chris Cotillo.
The Red Sox, according to Cotillo, didn't show interest in bringing Mata back for next season.
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He originally signed with Boston as an international free agent out of Venezuela in January 2016.
Mata pitched in the 2018 Futures Game and was a top-10 prospect in the Red Sox system every season between 2018 and 2013 for Baseball America.
Injuries were the undoing for Mata as much as anything. Right when it seemed he might break through, he'd get hurt again.
In 2025, Mata spent the entire season at Triple-A Worcester, where he had a 5.08 ERA in 67.1 innings across 42 relief appearances.
Cotillo's report didn't indicate which Japanese team Mata would be signing for. But it's quite a journey to take after such a long time with one organization.
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