$64 Million All-Star Would Take Red Sox To 'Higher Level,' Report Claims

Should the Red Sox spend big on the bullpen?

May 22, 2018; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A general view of Boston Red Sox hats and gloves laying in the dugout at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Is the bullpen the under-discussed key to the Boston Red Sox offseason?

At this point, all the focus is being split between the Red Sox's pursuit of superstar outfielder Juan Soto and their desire to land multiple big-name starting pitchers. But while the offense and starting rotation graded out well relative to the competition last season, the bullpen was a disaster.

The Red Sox blew an MLB-worst 18 of 32 save opportunities after the All-Star break in 2024, and they ended up missing the playoffs by five games. With everything else that went wrong throughout the year, having a league-average bullpen still may have been enough to carry them to October.

So how can the Red Sox fix that bullpen? Well, it's unclear who the closer is, they need more lefties, and above all else, they need more guys who can generate swings and misses. That opens the door to sign the biggest relief pitching name on the free-agent market.

Tim Crowley of NESN recently urged the Red Sox to sign 2024 All-Star left-hander Tanner Scott to shore up the back end of their bullpen for the foreseeable future.

"There’s solid arms on the market, though there's one name that could really take the Red Sox to a higher level.," Crowley said. "That would be Tanner Scott."

"The left-hander dominated for the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres in 2024. He’s one of the more unique arms on the market, could slot in multiple roles for Alex Cora and give the Red Sox a true weapon, not just an arm to get outs, in the bullpen."

Scott has been dominant over the last two seasons, racking up 188 strikeouts in 150 innings to the tune of a 2.04 ERA. He's been worth 7.6 bWAR in that time frame, which trails only Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians for the lead among big-league pitchers.

Crowley also cited the Red Sox's need for lefties, Scott's postseason experience, and his propensity for generating whiffs as reasons for Boston to pursue the 30-year-old star.

Scott was recently projected for a four-year, $64 million contract by Tim Britton of The Athletic, which could be nearly double the total value of any other deal signed by a reliever this winter. However, if Scott pitches like he has since 2023 for at least three of those years, it will be well worth the hassle.

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