Red Sox Could Pivot To All-Star Hurler After Missing Out On James Paxton

Boston is running out of options

Scott Neville | Jan 23, 2024

Red Sox Could Pivot To All-Star Hurler After Missing Out On James Paxton /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have lost an embarrassing amount of bidding wars this offseason and are starting to run out of options to bolster their rotation.

Fortunately, the free-agent market is moving historically slow and Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow still has a chance to add some impact players ahead of spring training.

While Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery remain the top options, Boston is expected to be digging into the middle tier of free agency. Among realistic options, right-hander Michael Lorenzen stands out as a formidable James Paxton replacement coming off an All-Star campaign.

Lorenzen posted a 4.18 ERA with a 111-to-47 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .265 batting average against and 1.46 WHIP in 153 innings between his time with the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies.

The 32-year-old's 105 ERA+ proved his ability as a slightly above-average starter but his road to getting there was quite odd.

Lorenzen entered the trade deadline with a 3.58 ERA across 18 starts in Detroit and appeared to be on his way to a big payday in a contract year.

He was moved to Philadelphia at the deadline and came out of the gate red hot -- allowing just two runs over eight innings in his team debut followed by a no-hitter in his second start for the Phillies. At this point, his career was peaking.

Unfortunately, Lorenzen wrapped up the regular season by posting an 8.01 ERA across 30 1/3 innings, derailing his impressive season. He was able to throw 2 2/3 scoreless innings in the postseason across two relief outings but his Phillies tenure damaged his outlooking heading into free agency.

The Red Sox took a similar gamble on Lucas Giolito and would be wise to invest in another lottery ticket if they refuse to spend on the aforementioned star duo of Snell and Montgomery.

More MLB: Impact Free Agent Has Multiple Red Sox Ties, Could Bolster Boston's Pitching Staff

Published Jan 23, 2024

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