Ex-Yankees Star Linked To Red Sox After Bounce-Back Year With Mets

Will the Red Sox target the All-Star pitcher this winter?

Sep 20, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detail view of Boston Red Sox hats and gloves at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox likely will search high and dry for starting rotation help this winter.

Boston already has made one significant move by offering Nick Pivetta the qualifying offer. This doesn't guarantee that he will be returning to the Red Sox, but it was a surprisingly aggressive move which could give some insight into the front office's thinking.

What's next for the Red Sox? Free agency is here, but the dam hasn't broken yet. There likely won't be any significant moves in the near future. Things will change soon as we get closer to winter, but speculation is starting to build up.

CBS Sports' R.J. Anderson put together a list of the top 50 free agents with possible landing spots and linked the Red Sox to former New York Mets and New York Yankees hurler Luis Severino.

"The short hook: Altered arsenal led to rebound season," Anderson said. "Severino followed up a dreadful 2023 season by taking action. He overhauled his arsenal, upping his sinker usage and installing a sweeper as his top secondary offering. That combination, to some unknowable degree, helped him achieve better results -- overall, and on his four-seam fastball.

"Severino's durability woes (this was the first year he started 20 or more times since 2018) make a three-plus-year contract appear to be a risky proposition; you have to pay to play in this game, though, and we suspect at least a few teams will be willing to pony up to add a rejuvenated mid-rotation starter. Potential landing spots: Mets, (Texas Rangers), Red Sox."

Severino is someone the Red Sox showed interest in last season and certainly are familiar with after spending years with the Yankees. Landing him would add another good starter to the mix for Boston, but it still would need to add a lefty.

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