Introduction
John Drake Britton (born May 22, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has played for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Career
Britton attended Tomball High School. The Boston Red Sox selected Britton in the 23rd round of the 2007 MLB Draft. Britton signed a $700,000 signing bonus with the Red Sox. He began his professional career in 2008 with the Class A short-season Lowell Spinners, appearing in eight games, making seven starts, with an ERA of 4.28 in 33.2 innings. In 2009, Britton split time between the Gulf Coast League Red Sox and Lowell; he combined to appear in 11.2 innings over seven games. He missed most of the season due to Tommy John surgery. 2010 saw Britton promoted to Class A full-season Greenville Drive, where he started 21 games and compiled a 2.97 ERA. Britton was promoted once again in 2011 to the Salem Red Sox. In Salem, Britton finished the season with 13 losses, a league high. His 6.91 ERA was worst of all Carolina League starters.
In November 2011, Britton, Che-Hsuan Lin and Will Middlebrooks were added to the Red Sox' 40-man roster to avoid being selected in the Rule 5 Draft.
Britton was called up to the major leagues on July 14, 2013 to replace the recently demoted Jackie Bradley, Jr..
Britton was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs on February 4, 2015. He was outrighted off the roster in April.
During the 2015 season, Britton played for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, pitching in 28 games, including 11 as a starter, and compiling a 7–8 record with one save, a 5.08 ERA and 45 strikeouts.
On December 11, 2015, Britton signed a minor-league contract with the Detroit Tigers, and was invited to spring training. On August 2, 2016, Britton was suspended 50 games for violating the terms of the Major League Baseball drug policy.
Personal
On March 5, 2013, he was pulled over driving 113 miles per hour (182 km/h) in a 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) zone at 4:14am. He allegedly handed police his debit card when asked for ID. He was charged with DUI. This was hours before a scheduled spring training start with the big league club.