Red Sox Linked To Former Cy Young Winner Surprisingly Projected For $147 Million

Would this acquisition put Boston over the top?

May 12, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A bag of baseballs sits on the diamond before a game against between the Boston Red Sox and the Washington Nationals at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

As the Boston Red Sox sit on their couches once again during the World Series, one has to hope the front office is fired up enough to spend big on starting pitching.

The stats don't tell the full story for the Red Sox rotation, which ranked seventh in Major League Baseball with a 3.81 ERA. The inexperienced Red Sox starters faded in late July and August, helping to tax the bullpen and contributing to the losing stretch that knocked Boston out of playoff contention.

To avoid a similar fate in 2024, the Red Sox must add at least one reliable starter. They need someone to eat innings, and they need to shut down the tough lineups in their own division when the going gets tough. There are loads of candidates waiting on the free-agent market, so what--and who--will Boston prioritize?

There's more than one Cy Young winner available this winter, and the Red Sox could look to steal one of them for cheap due to his recent Tommy John surgery. Hannah Filippo of FanSided named Cleveland Guardians star Shane Bieber as a top fit for Boston in this winter's free-agent sweepstakes.

"Banking on Bieber to return from Tommy John surgery and pitch as well as he did last year, if not better, is a bet the Sox shouldn’t hesitate to make," Filippo said. "He’s the perfect candidate for Boston to pair with another impact signing or trade acquisition given his track record, and he can provide a veteran presence entering his age-30 season."

Though Bieber won his Cy Young Award during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he's still been one of the best overall pitchers in the sport for a half-decade, at least when healthy. He missed two months in 2023 and virtually all of 2024, but in 115 starts since 2019, he has a 51-27 record and 3.02 ERA.

It's hard to say what a realistic contract projection for Bieber looks like given his injury history. Spotrac currently projects him for a six-year, $147 million deal, but that feels longer than any team will feel confident enough to offer. But over $20 million per season in the short term certainly feels within reach.

Bieber should not be the Red Sox's primary rotation addition unless every other ace makes it clear they won't come to Boston. But there's still a ton of upside if the righty can bounce back from injury, and he's worth adding as a high-risk, high-reward rotation wild card.

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