Four Risk/Reward Free Agents for the Red Sox

When I looked at the player profile for lefty Boone Logan I was surprised he was only 33-years-old. In my mind, Logan has seemed to be around for decades, but being a situational left-hander is a cottage industry in baseball. Logan was dumped by the Indians after a less than spectacular 2017 season.

Logan appeared in 38 games for the Indians and hurled 21 innings. For a situational lefty that is no surprise to one or two batters and done routine.  With the Yankees in 2012, Logan led the American League in appearances (80) yet tossed just 55.1 innings.

In 2017 Logan had some minor health issues that limited his appearances and – hopefully – were responsible for a 4.71 ERA and a dismal .353 BABIP. Logan also is a two-pitch pitcher with a fastball at about 40% of the time and a slider the remaining. Logan’s fastball usually ticks in at the low 90s.

For his career lefties have hit just .229 against Logan and right-handers .286. Logan also has a rather disappointing career 3.8 BB/9, but a 9.7 K/9 as lefties try to hit that slider. So, what you have would be an upgrade over what the Red Sox currently have.  Fernando Abad appears gone and Robby Scott had elbow surgery. The cupboard is thin in the left-handed relief department.

I would hope the Red Sox will invest in Jake McGee, but the team has little on the internal horizon to alleviate the lefty situation.  Does anyone get excited about Robbie Ross? Or Roenis Elias?