Some high-profile free agents have found new homes this Major League Baseball offseason, but there still are several players who could be of interest to the Boston Red Sox on the open market.
The Athletic’s Jim Bowden, a former MLB general manager, at the beginning of the offseason listed his top 25 free agents available, complete with “best fits” for each. A lot has changed since those initial rankings — 13 of the players signed with teams before the lockout — and he thus went back to the drawing board, creating a new list with the top 25 remaining free agents as of Jan. 6.
Bowden listed the Red Sox among his “best fits” for 11 players, including the top three free agents, in the first go-round. This time, he has Boston among his “best fits” for nine players.
Of course, this doesn’t mean Bowden expects the Red Sox to sign all nine players before Opening Day. It simply speaks to which players could fit into Boston’s plans. And the mix of talent reflects the flexibility Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom still has while constructing Boston’s roster for 2022.
Here are the nine players (along with Bowden’s top-25 rank):
Carlos Correa, SS (1)
Trevor Story, SS (3)
Carlos Rodón, LHP (8)
Kyle Schwarber, OF/DH/1B (12)
Joe Kelly, RHP (15)
Collin McHugh, RHP (16)
Jonathan Villar, IF (21)
Ryan Tepera, RHP (24)
Donovan Solano, IF (25)
Of course, 25 is a rather arbitrary number. Especially as top free agents come off the board and the list fills up with lesser-known players who presumably won’t require as much of a financial commitment. But that’s the number Bowden settled on, and it’s nevertheless a good exercise to see where the market stands and where the Red Sox could dip their toes.
It’s worth noting, too, that some teams’ needs have changed since the beginning of the offseason, in turn affecting Bowden’s “best fits” for certain players. Look at the Texas Rangers, for instance. They signed two of the top middle infielders available — Corey Seager (10 years, $325 million) and Marcus Semien (seven years, $175 million) — and that presumably removes them from the Correa and Story sweepstakes.
Bowden clearly believes the Red Sox belong in that conversation, though, with Boston listed among his “best fits” for both Correa and Story. Signing either obviously would be a huge splash, and somewhat surprising with Xander Bogaerts currently entrenched at shortstop. But the Red Sox could stand to improve their infield defense. And Bogaerts theoretically can opt out of his contract after the 2022 season.
Schwarber’s inclusion makes sense, seeing as he meshed well with the Red Sox after joining Boston at the 2021 trade deadline. And it’s easy to make a case for Boston considering any of the pitchers or infielders mentioned, with Rodón standing out for the upside he’d bring to the Red Sox’s rotation and Kelly jumping off the page for his previous stint with the organization.
Again, the Red Sox have the ability to think outside the box this offseason. They already signed three starting pitchers — Michael Wacha, James Paxton and Rich Hill — and traded Hunter Renfroe to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jackie Bradley Jr. and two prospects.
Maybe that’s all a precursor to something even more significant? Stay tuned.
