With the financial flexibility, it's plausible that general manager Ben Cherington will increase his pursuit of pitcher Roy Oswalt. The veteran is reportedly seeking a one-year deal in the ballpark of $8 million that could offset the losses of John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Although Oswalt would bolster Boston's pitching, does he address the team's most significant need? Or would the Red Sox be better served to sign an outfielder — more like Cody Ross — with left fielder Carl Crawford sidelined and a platoon in right field?
At this point, an outfield acquisition could be more beneficial. For these purposes, the focus will be on Ross.
Before the Scutaro trade, Cherington planned for Mike Aviles to split duties with Darnell McDonald and Ryan Sweeney in the outfield. After trading Scutaro and Jed Lowrie in the offseason, the team will need Aviles to step in at shortstop and platoon with Nick Punto.
Until Crawford recovers from wrist surgery, it leaves Sweeney and McDonald to solely complement Jacoby Ellsbury in the outfield. Let's take a gander at their numbers from last season and compare them to Ross.
- Sweeney: one home run/25 RBIs/.265 batting/.346 on-base percentage/.341 slugging percentage
- McDonald: six home runs/24 RBIs/.236 batting/.303 on-base percentage/.401 slugging percentage
- Ross: 14 home runs/52 RBIs/.240 batting/.325 on-base percentage/.405 slugging percentage
Despite coming off a lackluster season, Ross remains an upgrade. While Cherington praised Sweeney's swing — which he believes is suited for Fenway Park– and McDonald's success against lefties, he didn't rule out the possibility of adding to the outfield last week.
"We'll certainly keep our eyes open," Cherington said. "If there's ways to protect ourselves and increase depth, we'll look for that between now and spring training. Right now, we feel like we have some options even if Carl's not quite ready on Opening Day."
Ross wouldn't solve the issue long-term, but he's the model stopgap. The 30-year-old is merely two years removed from being crowned the National League Championship Series MVP and has displayed a propensity to hit left-handers.
Signing Ross wouldn't erase the question marks surrounding Boston's pitching staff. Can Daniel Bard make the transition to the rotation? Can Carlos Silva or Aaron Cook or Vicente Padilla give the Red Sox a boost and revive their careers?
Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia set the precedent in 2011, combining to record 20 wins for the Yankees. If the conversion from reliever to starter works in Boston, Bard would be the latest in a long list of hurlers to complete the move.
So the blueprint is already in place. Without Oswalt, Cherington expressed satisfaction with the team's pitching depth last Tuesday.
"If spring training opened tomorrow, we'd be comfortable with where we are with our pitching depth,” Cherington said. “We feel like we have a number of options both on the roster and off the roster for the last spots in the rotation and the bullpen – and also have a very strong returning core to pitch in the front of the rotation and back of the bullpen."
All signs indicate the Red Sox will chase Oswalt, who boasts a career 3.21 ERA. But an acquisition for the outfield could be worth the gamble, too.
Photo via Flickr/NickNackPhotographs
Have a question for Didier Morais? Send it to him via Twitter at @DidierMorais or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.
