Red Sox Expected To Add Pair Of Notable Pitchers This Winter After Season-Long Woes

Boston could use some frontline options in the rotation

Scott Neville | Aug 15, 2023

Red Sox Expected To Add Pair Of Notable Pitchers This Winter After Season-Long Woes /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox's clear downfall this season has been their lack of starting pitching -- both in terms of frontline options and depth pieces.

Next season, matters could get even worse if some major adjustments aren't made. Brayan Bello and oft-injured Chris Sale are solidified rotation locks entering the winter. Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford have plenty of starting experience but are all better suited for multi-inning relief roles and likely will enter the season in flux -- once again. James Paxton is an impending free agent and will not come cheap this winter should Boston try to retain his services.

The Red Sox could be forced into action with a reset luxury tax, and at least one insider very close to the team believes big changes are finally about to be made.

"My guess is a free-agent splash but also a trade to get a starting pitcher who is under control -- the kind of deal they wanted to make at the deadline and didn't," MassLive's Sean McAdam said on Thursday's edition of the "The Fenway Rundown" podcast. "It's going to be costly, it's going to hurt because it's going to cost multiple prospects from their system but I think finally they are at the nexus of both needing a controllable starting pitcher to build around and having built up the inventory of prospect where it's a little less painful to part with a couple."

While the hope would be that Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom springs into action this offseason, McAdam's trade scenario does not seem ideal. While he absolutely is correct that the team is at the point where a big trade would be warranted and they have the ammunition to get a deal done, Boston does not need to give up prospect capital to get frontline starters.

McAdam noted that he personally has some questions about the pitchers in the upcoming free-agent class but it's certainly deeper than just about any year in recent memory.

The aforementioned class is led by Los Angeles Angels' Shohei Ohtani and Lucas Giolito, San Diego Padres' Blake Snell, Los Angeles Dodgers' Julio Urías, Philadelphia Phillies' Aaron Nola, Texas Rangers' Jordan Montgomery, Chicago Cubs' Marcus Stroman (opt-out), Detroit Tigers' Eduardo Rodriguez (opt-out), Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Baltimore Orioles' Jack Flaherty and Paxton.

Many of these hurlers are ineligible for qualifying offers, meaning Boston could acquire legitimate frontline starters such as Yamamoto, Rodriguez and Paxton without giving up prospects or draft compensation. They will be paid heftily, but the luxury tax is not an issue for a few years and money is a lot easier to part ways with than top prospects -- especially with Rafael Devers locked up for the foreseeable future. Nobody else on the roster is due for a mega contract any time soon.

McAdam did take a stab at who the Red Sox could acquire in free agency, and co-host Chris Cotillo -- another Red Sox beat writer -- shared a similar sentiment.

"The fact that Snell is left-handed, the fact that he has a history with Bloom from Tampa Bay further makes a connection there, I would expect of the free agents (Snell) would be the guy they would target heaviest," McAdam said.

Everything is aligning for Boston to make some splashes this winter, and regardless of how they go about it, the rotation will be addressed.

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Published Aug 15, 2023

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