BoSox Injection
Fansided

Red Sox: Five affordable free agent starting pitcher targets

By Max Bozicas

CINCINNATI, OH - SEPTEMBER 25: Jordan Lyles #23 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on September 25, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - SEPTEMBER 25: Jordan Lyles #23 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on September 25, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 25: Drew Smyly #18 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches during the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on September 25, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 25: Drew Smyly #18 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches during the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on September 25, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /

Drew Smyly

It’s the happiest name in baseball! Drew Smyly started the 2019 season with the Texas Rangers and he was absolutely terrible for them, as he had posted an ERA of 8.42, with 11.2 H/9, 3.3 HR/9, 6.0 BB/9, and a horrific 1.909 WHIP before being released.

He would go on to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies and he was able to bounce back, improving drastically in each of those categories (4.45 ERA, 8.9 H/9, 1.9 HR/9, 3.0 BB/9, 1.324 WHIP).

Smyly gets strikeouts at a decent rate, as he recorded 9.5 SO/9 in 2019 and his career average in that area is 8.8. While that sounds nice on the surface, it’s not the most telling metric when it comes to evaluating a single pitcher or a pitching staff as a whole. The Red Sox ranked second in all of baseball this year in SO/9 with 10.0, but their pitching certainly wasn’t good.

Other than for the sake of name puns there’s not a ton of upside in acquiring Smyly. While he improved in the second half of the season, those numbers still aren’t blowing anyone away. However, when you’re a team on a budget like the Red Sox are you can’t exactly be picky.

Needless to say, Smyly is not going to command a big contract. Based on his performance in 2019, he is likely going to be the cheapest option on this list. The Red Sox may be interested in kicking the tires and hoping for improvement from him in 2020, in which case… they’d be all smyles. I am not sorry.

Home/Red Sox News