Will the Boston Red Sox acquire some arms in the winter shopping market?
MLB.com’s Bill Ladson identified starting pitching as the Red Sox’s biggest offseason need Wednesday. The presences of Chris Sale, David Price, Eduardo Rodriguez and Nathan Eovaldi give Boston the foundation of a formidable rotation on paper, but concerns over their health and durability convince Ladson the Red Sox must strengthen this department ahead of the 2020 season.
“The Red Sox need to create much better depth in the starting rotation, particularly given the health issues that Chris Sale, David Price and Nathan Eovaldi had this past season,” Ladson writes. “They don’t want to spend a lot of money, given ownership’s goal of getting below the luxury-tax threshold of $208 million.”
With the Winter Meetings set to begin Sunday, Ladson suggests the Red Sox’s new brass should innovate in order to address the team’s need for starting pitching.
“Look for Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom to get creative in the search for starting pitching, maybe finding some arms who would be ideal for the opener concept,” Ladson continued. “Since the season ended, there has been talk of trading Mookie Betts for pitching. At the same time, Boston is not in a rush to deal its best player.”
Bloom admitted Tuesday the team is exploring all options regarding Betts’ future. Exactly how that might impact the way Boston addresses the starting rotation isn’t clear at this point, but it certainly will factor into the decision.
Nevertheless, Ladson’s highlighting of the Red Sox’s need for starting pitching is consistent with our own analysis of what Boston should target this winter.
