Red Sox Invest In Pitching In ‘Bold’ Offseason Prediction

The Red Sox might have just watched their future ace start Game 5 of the World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Athletic’s Jim Bowden believes that, at least.

Bowden, a former big league executive, has spent the last several years analyzing MLB offseason markets and took a crack at predicting the upcoming offseason. Boston finished with one of the more interesting outcomes, landing right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty on a three-year, $68 million deal and left-handed pitcher Yusei Kikuchi on a three-year, $42 million contract.

Flaherty likely would draw a mixed reaction from fans, as he was extremely hit-or-miss during the postseason with LA — finishing with a 7.36 ERA despite two starts where he gave up zero and two earned runs, respectively.

Kikuchi is what he is, which is a solid but wholly unspectacular pitcher who will post throughout an entire season.

The Red Sox would be smart to bring in some outside help for the rotation, and now that they’ve gotten below the luxury tax threshold, it sounds like outsiders believe they’re going to.