MLB fans react to report of loyal reliever Tommy Kahnle choosing Yankees over Red Sox despite being offered more money

Tommy Kahnle, a reliever, turned down a better offer from the Boston Red Sox to sign a two-year, $11.5 million deal with the New York Yankees instead, he told The Athletic. Boston made a strong bid for the free agent and came close to signing him, but eventually fell short on Dec. 6.

After undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2020, Kahnle, who spent more than three seasons with the Yankees from 2017 to 2020, pitched just 12.2 innings over 13 appearances for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022. When healthy, he is a dependable reliever with electric stuff. Overall, it's a nice boost to the Yankees bullpen, which finished among the best in the game last season.

"The Red Sox offered Tommy Kahnle a larger contract but he chose the Yankees," TalkinYanks tweeted what Chris Kirschner wrote in a story published in The Athletic.

According to a Q&A with Chris Kirschner of The Athletic that was published on Monday, Kahnle had received a more attractive offer from the Red Sox. MLB fans reacted to Tommy's decision to skip Boston and return to New York.

"Thats cause he wants to at least be in the playoffs," JamesBrinn19 tweeted.

"True Yankee," JeremyIsTheBoss tweeted.

Tommy Kahnle is a Yankee again

The 33-year-old Tommy Kahnle, who was selected by the team in 2010 and made a dependable and well-liked contribution to the Bronx relief corps from 2017 to 2018, is now in his third stint with the Yankees organization.

Kahnle, a native of Latham, New York, first reached the majors with the Colorado Rockies (2014–15) and played for the White Sox (2016–17) before being re-acquired in a July 2017 trade that included shortstop Todd Frazier and right-hander David Robertson moving to New York.

"2017 at Yankee Stadium. Tommy Kahnle pitching in rain," sung_minkim tweeted.

Kahnle amassed a 4.01 ERA with 157 strikeouts over 112.1 innings in 129 appearances as a Yankee. The Yankees' relievers pitched to a 2.97 ERA in 2022, making them one of the third-best teams in the majors and one of baseball's top bullpens.

The Yankees beat out the Boston Red Sox to sign Kahnle. From 2017 through 2020, Kahnle pitched for the Yankees in various parts of four seasons. After recovering from Tommy John surgery, the 33-year-old pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers in just 12.2 innings and recorded a 2.84 ERA.

The bullpen will now include Kahnle in addition to Clay Holmes, Wandy Peralta and Lou Trivino. By the time the Yankees faced the Guardians in the first round of the playoffs, Holmes was recovering from an injury, thus leaving Peralta and Trivino as the team's "circle of trust" in critical scenarios.