Red Sox Reportedly Interested In Group Of High-Leverage Relievers After Latest Trade

Boston is in desperate need of a southpaw

Scott Neville | Jan 27, 2023

Red Sox Reportedly Interested In Group Of High-Leverage Relievers After Latest Trade /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox offseason has involved a lot of turnover and heartbreak for loyal fans of the franchise.

The club turned the page on many of its stars, and lost out on some key free agents due to factors beyond their control, such as location preferences.

One aspect of the offseason, however, is aligning for Boston. The biggest strength of the current free-agent market happens to be an area of weakness for the Red Sox.

Most, if not all pundits would agree that the left-handed reliever market is unusually stacked despite being just weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training.

Some are even blaming a pair of former members of the Red Sox for "destroying the market."

The Red Sox are listed as one of nine teams with varying levels of interest in left-handed relievers and money to spend according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

The top two arms available are Matt Moore and Andrew Chafin. Zack Britton remains available as well after multiple injury-riddled seasons but is a tier below.

Boston "checked in" on Moore according to MassLive's Chris Cotillo, interest in the two latter options is unknown.

Moore's career appeared to be on a downward trajectory until last season when he transitioned into a full-time reliever and absolutely dominated.

The 33-year-old posted a 1.95 ERA with an 83-to-38 strikeout-to-walk ratio, absurd .187 batting average against and 203 ERA+ in 74 innings across 63 appearances with the Texas Rangers last season.

Considering newcomer Joely Rodríguez and potential swingman James Paxton are the only left-handers projected to make the 26-man roster, Boston would greatly benefit from adding Moore.

The other proven high-leverage southpaw, Chafin, would be an exciting addition as well.

The 32-year-old posted a .283 ERA with a 67-to-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .222 batting average against and 134 ERA+ in 57 1/3 innings across 64 appearances with the Detroit Tigers.

Either option would be expected to produce head and shoulders above the current left-handed relievers on the roster. Britton would be an interesting addition, but the Red Sox have taken plenty of lottery tickets already.

A bullpen featuring Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, John Schreiber, Tanner Houck and Moore/Chafin would be a drastic improvement from the group of hurlers from a year ago.

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Published Jan 27, 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