The Boston Red Sox added to their bullpen on Thursday night by signing veteran left-hander Danny Coulombe to a one-year major league contract.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic had the information on social media. It's a good move for Boston that will give manager Alex Cora another good matchup lefty before giving way to All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman at the end of games.

Here's what you need to know:

Now 36 years old, Coulombe is an 11-year veteran of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers. Lifetime, he's 17-10 with a 3.35 ERA. He made 55 appearances last season for the Twins and Rangers, pitching to a 1.16 ERA in 40 games with Minnesota and a 5.25 in 15 games with Texas.

He will pair with the likes of Garrett Whitlock in a set-up role to get the ball to Chapman, who was one of the best relievers in baseball last season.

Not that we necessarily thought it was going to happen, but this basically knocks out any idea of lefties Connelly Early or Payton Tolle as possible left-handed relievers. Given his high-octane velocity, Tolle especially has been identified by some fans as a possible good leverage option. However, the team seems to value him and Early both as starters.

Chapman, Coulombe, Whitlock, Justin Slaten and Greg Weissert seem to have five of the eight bullpen spots locked up with a battle still raging for the other three.

--Red Sox minor leaguer Braiden Ward set a Grapefruit League record on Thursday by stealing his 17th base of the spring. The 27-year-old is still looking to make his major league debut this season.

--Ranger Suarez will start the WBC quarterfinal game for Team Venezuela on Saturday night. The game will be played against Team Japan - the defending WBC champions -- at 9 p.m. ET. Suarez signed a five-year deal worth $130 million in the offseason and should help make the Red Sox one of the best starting staffs in the majors in this campaign.

--Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras are also on Venezuela, while Anthony and Garrett Whitlock (USA) are also still playing in the international competition. Yoshida (Japan), Greg Weissert and Mickey Gasper (Italy), Brayan Bello (Dominican Republic), Jovani Moran and Eduardo Rivera (Puerto Rico) are all still playing as well. 

The championship is March 17.

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