Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Listed Among Five Suiters For Premier Hurler To Bolster Rotation

Boston is running out of options

Scott Neville

Red Sox Listed Among Five Suiters For Premier Hurler To Bolster Rotation
Red Sox Listed Among Five Suiters For Premier Hurler To Bolster Rotation /
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The Boston Red Sox have whiffed on a myriad of starting pitchers this offseason in what has become a trend in recent years.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was able to land right-hander Lucas Giolito but the veteran revealed in his opening press conference with Boston that his market was not large.

As for Breslow, he whiffed on Japanese stars Yoshinobu Yamamoto and even Shōta Imanaga, whose contract appears to be modest. Boston was also in on Seth Lugo but failed to outbid the Kansas City Royals -- yes, you read that right. 

Now they are backed against the wall and in desperate need of a frontline starter. 

Fortunately, they have at least been linked to a strong candidate to fill the void.

The Red Sox, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants are the five clubs that are in on right-hander Marcus Stroman, The New York Post's Jon Heyman told Bleacher Report on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old posted a 3.95 ERA with a 119-to-52 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .231 batting average against and 1.26 WHIP in 136 2/3 innings with the Chicago Cubs last season.

His path to getting there, however, was not normal. Stroman led the National League with a 2.28 ERA on June 20 and appeared to be on his way to a massive payday. A couple of injuries placed him in the injured list midseason. When he returned, he posted an 11.30 ERA over six games.

Stroman could be a significant boost to the Red Sox's rotation. If he was paired with a right-handed impact bat such as Jorge Soler, Boston could find themselves in pursuit of an American League Wild Card spot -- though some things would have to break the right way.

The challenge, however, is that the Red Sox cannot lowball the two-time All-Star given his sizeable market. The club has not shown a willingness to go above and beyond the market for a player this offseason.

More MLB: Red Sox Hurler Acquired At Trade Deadline Claimed By American League Foe

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Scott Neville
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

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