Red Sox Surprisingly Have 'Poked Around' On Pair Of Intriguing Free Agents

Boston could use an influx of talent

Scott Neville | Dec 28, 2023

Red Sox Surprisingly Have 'Poked Around' On Pair Of Intriguing Free Agents /

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Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has been adamant that his priority has been to bolster the rotation in his first offseason at the helm of baseball operations.

Thus far, however, there has been more reporting on Boston's interest in other areas of the roster.

After multiple reports regarding the Red Sox's pursuit of outfielder Teoscar Hernández, we're now starting to hear about other areas of the roster the club has explored adding to.

"While Red Sox remain focused on starters as top priority, they're active in a few markets," MassLive's Chris Cotillo wrote Thursday. "Have heard they've poked around on Robert Stephenson and Amed Rosario, among others. Not sure how strong they are on those players."

Stephenson is the more captivating player of the two, as he's considered to be toward the top of the free-agent relief ranks this offseason.

Stop me if you heard this before: the former first-round pick and top prospect struggled to put it all together for a while before joining the Tampa Bay Rays and becoming an impact hurler.

The 30-year-old started the season with a 5.14 ERA in 14 innings last season for the Pittsburgh Pirates before joining the Rays and adapting to their secret sourcery.

Stephenson posted a 2.35 ERA with an incredible 60-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .138 batting average against and 0.68 WHIP in 38 1/3 innings for the Rays last season.

That run is about as dominant of a stretch as possible in Major League Baseball. While it does not sound like Boston is the favorite to obtain the high-leverage hurler, he'd certainly bolster the bullpen.

Rosario is a serviceable offensive player but legitimately one of the worst defenders in Major League Baseball.

The 28-year-old hit .263 with 39 extra-base hits including six home runs, 58 RBIs and a .683 OPS (89 OPS+) in 142 games between the Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Dodgers last season.

Rosario also recorded -14 outs above average last season, ranking in the first percentile. That is slightly better than Kiké Hernández's -18 from 2023.

After what happened a season ago defensively, it would make no sense whatsoever to bring Rosario into the mix. He is a terrible middle infielder and below-average hitter.

Stephenson on the other hand would be a fantastic addition, though he could be costly. Time will tell if the Red Sox will continue to act like a mid-market team or finally start to pay up under new leadership.

More MLB: Red Sox Reportedly 'Remain Interested' In Cuban Free Agent With Serious Upside

Published Dec 28, 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