Red Sox Free Agency: Three former pitchers to sign for a discount
The Boston Red Sox need to add some firepower to their pitching squad while keeping the budget within reach of the CBT, so they need to go bargain hunting.
It’s a brand new year which means a brand new season is right around the corner. As the Red Sox inch closer to a new campaign and redemption for their 2019 misgivings, there’s still plenty of work to do.
The lineup is far from perfect even though they’ve hit the 40-man limit. With lots of pieces still in motion, the roster we see today could be much different by the time March rolls around.
One area that the front office needs to continue showing attention to is the pitching staff. The starting rotation is pretty set despite having a hole in the five spot and plenty of uncertainty surrounding the health of Chris Sale, David Price, and Nathan Eovaldi. Then there’s the always looming CBT and keeping the budget as close to that $208M line as possible.
Boston has more money than they know what to do with but the owners are deadset on stopping the financial bleeding. Bringing in Chaim Bloom was the first step in the monetary healing and he’s already showing what he’s capable of as far as smart spending is concerned.
If Bloom wants to put more arms in his arsenal he has a few choices from the organization’s past to achieve that. Re-signing any one of these pitchers could allow him to add more depth while saving money and then throw in the added benefit of bringing back someone familiar with the organization.
Alright, folks, we have the plan and the course is set, let’s suit up and head off to Free-Agent Island!
#3: Andrew Cashner
The first guest we’re going to visit with here on Free-Agent Island spent the second half of the 2019 season with the Red Sox. Andrew Cashner was a right-hander that showed lots of promise while with the Orioles but that didn’t last long.
His 9-3 start for Baltimore would evaporate damn near the moment he put on that Red Sox hat. Though there were glimpses of what got him off to that fast start, they were few and far between after the trade. Dave Dombrowski brought him in as a cheap arm to get the rotation through their injury woes and he succeeded at the task.
Boston declined any extension talks as the season progressed and the Cash-Man hit the free-agent market. Months into the offseason and it seems as if his phone has been silent, giving the Sox a chance at bringing him back.
I’m sure the Fenway Faithful wouldn’t be the most thrilled with bringing the righty back but with few options and no money, the team doesn’t have many moves to make. He made $9.5M for 2019 with $9.42M of that being covered by the O’s, so his wages aren’t anything that would kill the budget.
If Boston wants to be fiscally responsible while giving Alex Cora another pitcher to call on, they may be able to make a deal that appeases both sides. Also, Cashner has one of the best mullets in the game and a little bit of that attitude may serve the team well in 2020.
#2: Jhoulys Chacin
Much like Cashner, Jhoulys Chacin was brought in for the final month of the season to bolster the pitching staff. He had tours of both the bullpen and starting rotation and actually had some pretty good showings for Boston.
Chacin was signed to a minor league deal in August and called up at the beginning of September. His debut with the team came against the Yankees where he tossed a pair of strong innings and struck out four, can’t complain about that start.
Despite the righty finishing his term in Boston with an 0-2 record in 14.2 innings, his K/9 was an insane 12.9. If Bloom could work out a deal with him Chacin and send him to the bullpen, that could be a perfect fit.
Only needing to worry about a possible inning or two a night would allow Chacin to fire the ball as hard as he needs to in order to get his outs.
When the occasion calls upon him to eat some more innings or start a game, he’s capable of doing that as well. The versatility that Chacin could offer Cora would also allow the skipper to give the night off to guys like Matt Barnes and Marcus Walden.
Boston could use all the help they can get in the pitching department and bringing back someone recently with the team couldn’t hurt either.
#1: Clay Buchholz
In my eyes, this could be one of the better free-agent signings still on the market. I’m going to give everyone a moment to yell angrily as much as they need to after reading my initial statement. Ok, now that we’ve got that out of the way, hear out my thought process.
The entire plan I’ve laid out here is combining an inexpensive free-agent option with someone who’s also been in the Red Sox organization before. There’s no one better when you use that formula than Clay Buchholz. Once thought to be the future of Boston’s pitching the veteran is now on the backside of his career.
Having just completed his thirteenth season in the league he’s once again on the open market. Clay spent his first decade in the Majors with the Red Sox and I can’t think of a better way for him to finish things out than another run at Fenway Park. As we all know, injuries have hampered what could have and should have been an impressive career.
Buchholz has only thrown 164.2 innings over the last three seasons so being a starter may not be an option anymore. Bringing him in out of the pen as a long reliever similar to Walden very well could be the route to go for the righty.
Clay only made $3M in 2019 and I can’t see his salary being close to that going forward, so this may be the right time to strike and offer a homecooked deal. Offering him something in the 2-year/$3M range could be just what both sides need and the allure of “coming home” may be just what Buchholz needs.
The Red Sox are gearing up to show that they can once again contend for the Commissioner’s Trophy. Having missed October baseball just a year after winning it all should be all the fire they need to make a statement. It won’t come easy and the front office needs to find the right pieces to complete the puzzle going into this season.
Having the mandate of keeping the spending to a minimum will handcuff Bloom and his staff more than any of us realize. Things won’t be pretty at times but as we saw with Dealin’ Dave, throwing money at the problem isn’t always the solution. Searching the market for the right players at the right price will be the key to success in 2020 and that starts with the pitching staff.
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Boston’s pitching more often than not was the culprit when it came to the loss column filling up. Their offense once again was a powerhouse in the league but it never felt like the pitching could match the dominance. Going back in time and re-signing someone from Red Sox past could be a key to righting the ship for 2020.
Chaim Bloom has his hands full as he not only has to keep his bosses happy but he also needs to keep the Fenway Faithful at bay. As we all know, Red Sox Nation isn’t always the most patient when it comes to the front office and how they operate. If the team continues their losing ways in 2020 then things may get ugly in a hurry.
Next. Thornburg to sign with the Reds. dark
We’ve all seen what this team is capable of and what their potential is, it’s just a matter of finding it once again. In the era of Sabermetrics and Moneyball, it isn’t always about the biggest name or biggest numbers but more about the right situation. Having the right players in the game at the right time is what will bring wins back to Fenway Park, and any of these three pitchers could be the conduit to that success.