Could Red Sox Be In Running For This AL Central Pitcher?

Craig Breslow made starting pitching one of his top focuses when he took over as the Red Sox’s new chief baseball officer, and that pursuit could come through the trade market.

Boston is among multiple teams in the running for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who dominated headlines after Shohei Ohtani signed a historic deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It appears Major League Baseball teams are waiting on where the 25-year-old signs and how much he signs for before turning their sights to other top pitchers like Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell.

The Red Sox already made multiple trades for bullpen depth, and pitchers they reportedly were linked to — Seth Lugo and Luis Servino — already found new clubs this offseason. But Boston reportedly is still searching for arms to improve its rotation.

Boston is interested in a pitcher who has multiple years of control rather than someone who is a year from free agency, according to the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier on Thursday. It checked in with the Mariners on their group of young arms like George Kirby and Logan Gilbert, but Seattle wasn’t interested in a trade, according to Speier. The MLB insider added the Chicago White Sox have been listening in on offers for Dylan Cease.

The right-hander would be an intriguing addition to the Red Sox. Cease had a down year this past season with a 4.58 ERA in 177 innings. His 2.4 fWAR was a significant decrease from the previous season where he finished second in American League Cy Young voting.

There’s a case to be made Cease can bounce back next season, which makes him an interesting buy-low option for a Red Sox team hoping to return to the postseason.

There are multiple names Boston’s been linked to this offseason, which makes it likely it will add at least one or two arms to assist Brayan Bello and Chris Sale atop of the rotation next season.