Red Sox Free Agent Targets: Top 5 available starting pitchers

5. Jake Arrieta

I know what you are thinking, “Jake Arrieta is number five?” Yes, Jake Arrieta is number five.

Let’s be honest, Arrieta is not a necessity for the Red Sox, he is a luxury. The Red Sox got under the luxury tax in 2017, which means they are ready to spend for the future.

Arrieta, despite what many believe was a down year, was still pretty solid for the Cubs. He was solid in the postseason in 2017, boasted a top-30 WPA among starting pitchers and had an ERA of 3.53. He finished with a record of 14-10.

But why would the Sox want to fork out $20 million+ for a guy they don’t need?

The team will definitely need to add a power bat, but if they feel that the offense is good enough as is, why not add the best pitcher on the market?

In reality, I do not think the Sox will go after Arrieta, but you should never count out Dave Dombrowski. If he can pull off a trade to get a power bat, at an affordable price, he could have a little bit of flexibility to add a shutdown pitcher like Arrieta.

Just because of the unlikelihood of this, Arrieta comes in at five on our list.