Journeyman pitcher comes off the beach in Puerto Rico to help Red Sox win final game of season

BOSTON — Jose De Leon was home in Puerto Rico Saturday when the texts from a few Red Sox staffers began to hit his phone.

“I knew,” said De Leon, “something was up.”

The staffers wanted to know if he had been playing catch during the week, keeping his arm in shape.

“I told them yes,” said a sheepish De Leon, breaking into a grin, “but that was a lie.”

Next, the Red Sox had a question: could he make it to Boston to pitch Game No. 162 on Sunday? The Red Sox were in need of a fresh arm so as to not overwork their bullpen with the start of the postseason just two days away. DeLeon was only too happy to accept the invitation.

But to say the question caught him unaware was a giant understatement.

“It was very surprising,” said De Leon.

DeLeon naturally thought his year was over when the Worcester Red Sox completed their regular season last weekend. He returned to his home, figuring he had a little more than a month to relax before the winter ball season began in early November.

Scrambling, he caught a red-eye from San Juan Saturday night that landed before dawn in Philadelphia Sunday morning, caught two hours of sleep at an airport gate and landed in Boston at 8:30 a.m.

Hours later, having introduced himself to members of the coaching staff and teammates, De Leon went out and tossed 6.2 innings, allowing three runs and claiming his first major league win since 2019 in a 4-3 Red Sox win over the Detroit Tigers.

“It was a dream,” concluded De Leon. “I grew up a Red Sox fan, and the only other time I’ve been (at Fenway) was in 2019. The Rays called me up, and long story short, my flight was delayed and I didn’t get here until the seventh inning. I didn’t pitch that day, so my only time in Fenway was two innings.

“So being able to pitch here with the (home) whites, was something I’ve always dreamed of.”

When De Leon started playing Little League, he played shortstop and was given No. 5, and his coach nicknamed him “Nomar.” That association, along with a godfather who lived in Brookline and sent Red Sox merchandise to him for Christmas and birthdays every year further cemented that bond.

He admitted to being awe-struck meeting team game planner Jason Varitek pre-game, and because he wasn’t in big league camp this past spring, didn’t know most of the faces in the clubhouse. And vice versa.

“Not a lot,” said Trevor Story when asked when he knew about his starting pitcher. “But we found out a lot about him today, for sure. He came in and did great a job for us when we really needed it. To kind of do with the circumstances he had, coming up big was huge for us.”

Familiar or not, once the game began, it was all business. De Leon allowed a three-run homer to Javier Baez in the third, but the Red Sox responded with three of their own in the bottom of the inning, and DeLeon didn’t give up anything else until he was lifted with an out in the seventh.

When Alex Cora asked him pre-game how many pitches he had in him, De Leon told him 120. He was at 107, a career high, when Cora strolled to the mound.

“He told me, ‘I’ve got 13 more,’ ” Cora recalled with a chuckle. But De Leon had already done his job — the three relievers who followed him threw only a combined 33 pitches.

Before De Leon walked off mound, Cora reminded him to enjoy the reception he was about to receive from the crowd of 35,503. Most fans stood and applauded as he departed and, im turn, De Leon tipped his cap.

“Honestly,” he said, “I was trying to hold back the tears because I’ve been through a lot.”

His baseball career has had more disappointment than glory. He’s undergone several surgeries and has spent far more time in the minors — including a previous stint with the Red Sox in 2021 – than in the majors.

“To be able to go out there and perform in front of a packed house, in the last game of the year, kind of a meaningful game, it’s special,” said De Leon. “Every time you can get an ovation like that, you did your job.”

Doing your job, persevering, is what De Leon has been doing for the last dozen years. He won’t be part of the postseason roster and may not be part of the organization next spring, either. As a minor league free agent, he’s free to explore his options.

But he’ll never forget his last-minute, final day cameo that got the Red Sox their 89th and final win of the 2025 season and locked in a wild card date with the New York Yankees.

“I’ve had a couple of bumps in the road,” acknowledged De Leon, “but I think that’s my story. If my story can serve as motivation to someone who’s watching today, (then it will have been worth it).”

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