A Martha’s Vineyard Sharks closer is on his way to the big leagues. On Tuesday, Nate Tellier signed a three-year contract with the Boston Red Sox and will report for spring training in Fort Myers, Fla. on March 3, 2021.

The Attleboro native made a name for himself with the Sharks last season regularly slamming the door shut on opposing teams hoping to mount late-inning comebacks. In 15 appearances he struck out 34 batters and tallied five saves. Tellier allowed runs in only three of his appearances and despite standing at 5’9 and 175 pounds, his fastball clocks in at 98 miles per hour. He also has a curveball, change-up and cutter in his arsenal.

Tellier was named a New England Collegiate Baseball League all-star last season among five other Sharks as the Vineyard team lost in the championship series to the Keene Swamp Bats in their inaugural NECBL season. Tellier recorded the save in the Sharks’ 3-2 semifinals victory over the Newport Gulls to send the Vineyard to the championship.

Last summer with the Sharks, Tellier struck out 34 batters in 15 appearances and tallied five saves. — Aaron Wilson

Sharks general manager Russ Curran said that when Tellier first arrived on the Vineyard in 2017 he wanted to be a two-way player. However, after talking it over with head coach Jay Mendez and Mr. Curran, Tellier was told “your career is on that mound,” Mr. Curran said.

“Once he embraced that, the last two summers he didn’t worry about hitting and he became a guy we relied on. He’d shut the door every time we asked him to,” Mr. Curran continued.

When not pitching for the Sharks, Tellier took the mound for the Umass Dartmouth Corsairs. His senior collegiate season was cut short this year due to the pandemic but Tellier graduated in May and had an opportunity to pitch for the Brockton Rox this summer. The Sharks did not have a season after the NECBL voted to cancel it due to pandemic concerns in May.

Tellier made the most of his time with the Rox, striking out 19 batters in 11 appearances. He was signed by the Red Sox after appearing in a scouting game last week at the University of Hartford where he punched out all three batters he faced with strikeouts.

After the game, a Red Sox scout contacted Tellier. They exchanged information and Monday night the scout asked if they could meet up. On Tuesday, the scout asked him “do you want to play for the Red Sox?”

“Yeah, that would be awesome,” Tellier recalled saying and he signed. “It all happened pretty quick,” he said.

Tellier said he grew up a Red Sox fan and described the feeling of signing with his favorite team as “a dream come true.”

As for his time on the Vineyard, Tellier said “there’s no better place to play summer ball than on the Vineyard. The talent you face between the futures league and NECBL, the people you meet, your teammates, you’re friends with them for life. It’s amazing, just the scenery of the Island, you can’t beat it and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.”