Red Sox Free Agency: Three positions to target to be competitive in 2021
Red Sox Relief PItcher Needs
The last position that the Red Sox need to look at is relief pitching, mainly closer. I have 3 candidates for this position. Brad Hand, Alex Colome, and Liam Hendricks. Hendricks is an interesting case because, for such a dominant pitcher, he did not receive a qualifying offer from the A’s. He could be a bit hefty for price and might be out of Bloom’s range, but at some point, he will have to spend some money somewhere. Hendricks could be that person.
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Alex Colome could be a good looking pick up for Bloom. He would help tremendously with the backend of the bullpen. In 22.1 innings throughout the 2020 season, Colome had a 0.81 era with 16 strikeouts. That’s better than any pitcher that was in the bullpen for the Sox in 2020 or 2019. He also had 12 saves in 13 opportunities. Granted, for a closer to get a save, the starting pitcher needs to be able to keep the team in contention. But, if the Sox get another starting pitcher, that could help in this predicament.
The Indians rejected the club option of $10 million on Brad Hand and it was a bit surprising to most of MLB. The one thing that concerns me is that the Indians didn’t think it was a good idea to pick up that option and then no one jumped on it. Is there something going on with him that we as fans do not know about?
Maybe it really is nothing and everyone is just waiting on other teams to make the moves. If that is the case, Hand would be a good addition to the Red Sox bullpen. Hand had 16 saves in 16 opportunities in 2020 while posting a 2.05 era. Not one blown save which is something that the Sox haven’t had in some time. An actual closer who can close out a game.
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There are other candidates that are free agents and might bring some interest from the Red Sox, but if you’re trying to think like Chaim Bloom, these players might be the ones to entice you the most. Players that have the qualifying offers attached to them are probably not going to widen Bloom’s eyes as he is trying to build the farm. But with pressure coming from his bosses to right the ship, his hand may be forced into losing some picks to bring back wins.