Red Sox RHP: Garrett Richards
This one should come as no surprise to anyone that’s watched this team for any instance of time in 2021. Garrett Richards is the definition of a “Chaim Bloom Guy,” during his tenure in Boston. A low cost-high reward possibility that has seen some success in the past but is on hard times. If I’ve learned anything about Chaim since he joined the organization it’s that he loves making chicken salad out of chicken crap.
Now, I’m not trying to browbeat Richards and downplay him as a pitcher. At a time in his career, he was very good at what he does but those years are long gone. He hadn’t made a start in years and was being tossed into a rotation that was in flux. Add in the fact that he was dropped from the rotation at the first open moment, and it’s not a good look.
His $8.5M salary for 2021 was acceptable as the Sox had plenty of wiggle room with the budget, but his $10M club option for 2022 is hard to swallow. There is a $1.5M buyout in his contract in lieu of the option which I feel will most likely be the way Bloom goes. We know how fiscally responsible Bloom and his team are and paying a mediocre pitcher $10M just isn’t it.
Yes, Richards has been fantastic since being moved to the bullpen but his salary does not compute with his new job and I find it very hard to see Boston wanting to pay him that much to be a middle/long reliever.
Could they always activate the buyout and make him a lower offer? Sure. But even then, I don’t think the righty is going to slash his salary just to stay with a club that he wasn’t successful at.