Oswalt & Kuroda Deemed too Rich for Red Sox
Despite the need to upgrade the rotation, Ben Cherington is sticking to his laid out plan of patience pays off. Letting the market come to him is his motto as he continues to feel the rath of the luxury tax threshold. Because of this, free-agents Roy Oswalt and Hiroki Kuroda are both said to be too expensive at this point and Cherington is hoping their market value will drop in the coming weeks.
Both veteran pitchers have said they would take a one-year deal and would prefer to play for a winner. Boston needs a solid veteran guy to bolster the back end of the rotation. Both Oswalt and Kuroda would fill that void and on a one-year deal it would serve as a bridge year until next year’s free-agent pool, loaded with high end caliber pitchers, become available.
Kuroda is apparently asking for $12-13 million for one-year and has said he would pitch on the East coast, despite a preference to stay on the West coast. The 37-year old, who has pitched four seasons in the majors, is coming off a fine season with the LA Dodgers, going 13-16, a 3.07 ERA and a 1.2113 WHIP. His strikeout ratio was 7.2 per 9 innings while he walked an average of 2.2 batters per 9 innings. Decent numbers, but at a salary of over $10 million he is a risk pitching in the AL East compared to that of the NL West.
Oswalt did appear to be the better suitor considering he’s younger and has a more proven track record. Last season he had two stints on the DL and only started 23 games as a result. He went 9-10 with an ERA of 3.69 and a WHIP of 1.338. His strikeout ratio dropped considerably from his previous years to 6.0 per 9 innings while his walk ratio of 2.1 per 9 innings was right on his career average. Oswalt claims he’s healthy this offseason and desperately wants a chance to prove it. He’ll get his one-year deal somewhere as many teams are said to be interested on those terms. He’ll likely get around $10 million per season with the possibility of getting more. Both the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals are eyeing up Oswalt, meaning the price could get higher.
Currently, both the Red Sox and Yankees have said Kuroda’s price is too high and while the Sox are content to wait for Oswalt’s to drop, the Yanks or Cards may pounce on the opportunity to sign the veteran.
It’s scary to think about what Cherington is waiting for before he makes a move. He may be out of options before it gets that far and sometimes you have to take a chance. That time is now.
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