How Kevin Plawecki To Rangers Could Cost Red Sox Marquee Free Agent

Plawecki's relationship with a prominent pitcher could cost the Red Sox.

Scott Neville | Sep 20, 2022

How Kevin Plawecki To Rangers Could Cost Red Sox Marquee Free Agent /

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Could the Boston Red Sox's release of Kevin Plawecki cost them one of the top pitchers in the upcoming free-agent class? Maybe someone the team is quite familiar with?

The former Red Sox backstop officially was released Monday after being designated for assignment last Wednesday. He's now expected to sign with the Texas Rangers but will have to wait until Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET to do so.

While the Rangers could be simply adding a veteran catcher to both mentor young pitchers and see if Plawecki is a viable option behind the plate next season, they also could be positioning themselves for the next part of their rebuild.

Plawecki's former battery mate Nathan Eovaldi is on an expiring deal and would be a logical fit to join the Rangers as they attempt to rise up the standings after investing half a billion dollars to upgrade their middle infield last offseason.

If Plawecki's time in Texas extends to next season, he'd be largely involved in the pursuit of the hard-throwing right-hander should the team decide to pursue him.

Eovaldi was surprisingly outspoken regarding the release of Plawecki, while bringing up some other players he was not happy to see go as well -- namely Kyle Schwarber and Hunter Renfroe.

Regardless of whether the release of Plawecki and decisions not to retain the other pair of aforementioned sluggers fractured Eovaldi's relationship with the Red Sox's front office or not; you can expect the Rangers to be involved in the Eovaldi sweepstakes.

The Red Sox will have plenty of payroll flexibility but have a plethora of pitchers on expiring deals including: Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, James Paxton and Eovaldi. It would benefit the Red Sox to at least retain Eovaldi and Wacha as they head toward a pivotal offseason.

The Rangers could get in the way of one of those pursuits.

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Published Sep 20, 2022

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu