Red Sox Reportedly 'Expected' To Make Large Offer For Free-Agent Starter

Boston appears close to a solid move at the Winter Meetings

Scott Neville | Dec 5, 2023

Red Sox Reportedly 'Expected' To Make Large Offer For Free-Agent Starter /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have spent the last couple of months preparing to bolster their starting pitching staff as they aim to make multiple additions.

After relative silence since the offseason began, the Red Sox appear to be within striking distance of their first acquisition.

Boston does not appear to be starting their retooling with a bona fide ace but the target they are closing in on would be a notable upgrade from the current starting five.

"One source yesterday said Red Sox are 'expected' to make an offer to free agent starter Seth Lugo," MassLive's Chris Cotillo reported Tuesday.

At the same time, another report made the deal feel increasingly imminent.

"Red Sox stepping up efforts on free agent right-handed pitcher Seth Lugo," the New York Post's Jon Heyman reported. "Four or five others, including (Atlanta) Braves, interested."

Lugo had a 3.57 ERA with a 140-to-36 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a .249 batting average against with a 1.20 WHIP in 146 1/3 innings pitched across 26 games for the San Diego Padres last season.

The 34-year-old posted an impressive 115 ERA+ last season, matching his career total. In other words, he's 15% better than league average. The Red Sox would greatly benefit from similar production, though he's far from an innings eater.

Lugo was a full-time starter last season for the first time since 2017 after years in the bullpen. His innings are quite valuable but he cannot be relied on to anchor a rotation.

At best, the veteran can serve as a No. 3 starter but the goal would be to toss him closer toward the back end.

A rotation that features a legitimate No. 1 -- such as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell or more likely Jordan Montgomery -- followed by Brayan Bello, Seth Lugo, Chris Sale and then Boston's pick of Nick Pivetta or Kutter Crawford could be formidable.

Hopefully, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow will step up in his first offseason and make some notable moves but the potential addition of Lugo is a solid start to build off of.

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Published Dec 5, 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