Top Pitching Targets For Red Sox After Yoshinobu Yamamoto-Dodgers Deal

Now that the Dodgers have shelled out more than $1 billion, the MLB offseason can begin in earnest for the Red Sox — and pretty much the rest of the sport.

Los Angeles again flexed its financial might Thursday night when it reportedly secured Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million contract. Yamamoto’s deal is the most money ever given to a pitcher, a fact made even more wild by the fact that he hasn’t thrown a pitch in the major leagues.

So, now what? For a team like the Red Sox, one that was reportedly in the mix for Yamamoto, there’s no shortage of options. Admittedly, none of them are as appealing as the 25-year-old right-hander, but at the very least Yamamoto’s decision should get the market moving. The starting pitching market is pretty deep, but it’s been very quiet while the rest of the league waited to see how and where Yamamoto would set the market.

Here’s a quick look at some remaining options for the Red Sox (and the rest of the teams hoping to add starting pitching).

FREE AGENTS

Blake Snell: The next domino to fall could be Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner. Snell is coming off the best season of his career, winning the award behind a 14-9 campaign with a 2.25 ERA in which he logged 180 innings over 32 starts. Snell’s upside clearly is the best among the remaining starters, but he’s 31 years old and hasn’t exactly been the model of consistency. He pitched fewer than 130 innings in 2021 and 2022, and has only logged more than that in his two Cy Young campaigns. He also walked five batters per nine innings last season, the highest of his career. It’s a seemingly high-risk, high-reward move.

Jordan Montgomery: It’s all about your perspective when it comes to Montgomery. He’ll turn 31 next week, but he does have a pretty impressive track record as an innings-eater; he just logged 188 2/3 frames last season and has at least 157 innings in each of his last three seasons. Just how long can teams depend on that sort of durability as he ages? Montgomery picked the best year to have his best season, as he posted a career-best 3.20 ERA while splitting time between St. Louis and Texas, helping the Rangers to win a World Series. He’s reportedly looking to get paid as such, with an inflated asking price compared to what he might have sought in the past.

Shota Imanaga: In any other year, there might be a lot more buzz for Imanaga, who comes over to Japan in the shadow of Yamamoto. MLB Trade Rumors cited its own contacts who believe Imanaga — a 5-foot-10 left-hander — could be a No. 3 or 4 starter in the big leagues. The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier described Imanaga as “someone who’s of considerable interest to the Red Sox,” so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them pivot to the southpaw, as unproven as he might be.

TRADE TARGETS

Corbin Burnes: The Brewers sound like they’re at least open to trading Burnes, the 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner. He’s under team control for two more seasons, which makes him insanely valuable and would yield quite the return from any team. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has at least sounded open to moving some of Boston’s prospects, especially if it helps the team now and in the future. He’d be worth it. Burnes is a workhorse, who has made at least 32 starts in each of the last two seasons and is averaging 188 innings per season over the last three years, which includes his Cy Young campaign. One thing to keep in mind, though: Burnes’ strikeout rate has declined and walk rate has increased in each of the last three seasons.

Dylan Cease: The White Sox right-hander has been up an down over the last three seasons. He finished second in Cy Young voting in 2022 after going 14-8 with a 2.20 ERA on the South Side. Last season, though, his ERA ballooned to 4.58 ERA on a bad White Sox team. Control is a concern. Even as good as he was in 2022, he led the big leagues in walks, and he led the majors in wild pitches last season. The talent is there, as is the workload, which makes him the kind of arm the pitching-needy Red Sox should be looking to take a chance on.

Shane Bieber: The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner is coming off arguably the worst season of his career. Bieber made just 21 starts in 2023, and his 3.80 ERA was his highest since his rookie season of 2018. He is just two years removed from a 13-8 season with a 2.88 ERA in which he logged 200 innings. After striking out 14 per nine innings in 2020, Bieber’s strikeout numbers have fallen ever year since; he struck out just 7.5 per nine innings last season. But he’s a veteran arm with past success who knows how to pitch at the big league level. He would instantly upgrade a rotation like Boston’s.