Red Sox Linked To Free-Agent Starting Pitcher With Career 3.27 ERA

Boston might need to take a shot on a lottery ticket

Scott Neville | Feb 1, 2024

Red Sox Linked To Free-Agent Starting Pitcher With Career 3.27 ERA /

In this story:

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are not expected to invest heavily into the roster ahead of spring training and could look to fill their biggest needs by taking shots on affordable players that hopefully carry some upside.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow currently is seeking a starting pitcher and an impact right-handed bat with positional versatility to bolster the roster.

The best-case scenario would be for Breslow to sign southpaw Jordan Montgomery and outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler -- a pair of moves that would immediately put the Red Sox in playoff contention.

However, Red Sox ownership seemingly cares more about staying far below the luxury tax, which could set Breslow's sights much lower.

If that's the case, Breslow could look toward the player with the highest pedigree in the mid-tier market, left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu.

The 36-year-old is expected to have a large market according to The New York Post's Jon Heyman, who gave some insight on Wednesday while doing his weekly Bleacher Report livestream.

While he did not directly tie these clubs to Ryu, he mentioned the San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles, Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels and Red Sox as teams he'd expect to be in the mix.

Ryu has a career 78-48 record with a 3.27 ERA, 934-to-236 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .250 batting average against and a 1.18 WHIP in 186 appearances (185 starts).

The Korean star is one of the more underrated players of the last decade and appears to have plenty in the tank. Ryu missed most of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery but returned in August to post a 3.46 ERA across 11 starts.

If Montgomery signs elsewhere, Ryu could be the perfect player for the Red Sox to bridge the gap within the rotation until they get to the point where they want to spend heavily again -- though nobody can seem to figure out what they are waiting for.

More MLB: Red Sox Could Be In American League East Bidding War For Premier Slugger

Published Feb 1, 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