Red Sox Free Agency: 3 intriguing options to solidify the bullpen for 2022

Three pitchers the Red Sox can sign to turn a weakness into a strength

The Boston Red Sox made great strides in 2021. But the fight for the 2022 AL East Crown and beyond begins with Hot Stove season, during which there are a number of keyholes that the team must look to address.

Hole number one is pitching. Frankly, holes number two and three may be pitching too.

Now, assuming one or both of Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck move into the rotation for 2022, as far as I am concerned, solidifying the bullpen will be, hands down, the biggest need for the Red Sox to address this off-season.

I know that I, for one, would much appreciate more innings being thrown by effective relievers and fewer by the likes of Matt Andriese and Phillips Valdéz.

Now, while the idea of re-signing some key arms such as Hansel Robles (I’d be absolutely down with this) and Adam Ottovino (eh…) remain on the table, here are three intriguing free agency options that could provide the Red Sox with an instant upgrade to the pen.

Red Sox Option #1: Collin McHugh

Collin McHugh in some ways feels like one of the most frustrating “what could have been” type teases in recent seasons. The Red Sox signed McHugh to an incentive-laden one-year deal in March of 2020, but he ended up opting out in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then, straight out of the worst-case scenario playbook, he ended up signing with the Tampa Bay Rays for the 2021 season, where he was absolutely electric (6-1, 1.55 ERA, 74 K, 12 BB, ERA+ of 256) in a hybrid role on that pitching staff.

Now, he’s on the market yet again. Maybe, just maybe, this is finally the chance for McHugh to actually don a Red Sox uniform. It would likely cost more than the first time around, particularly coming off the season he has just had.

With his ties to both the Astros and Rays, he may not be the most beloved player at Fenway Park but this bullpen needs all the help it can get. On the other hand, the chance to scoop up a premium relief pitcher from a key divisional rival? May well be worth the cost.

Red Sox Option #2: Aaron Loup

Over the course of his career, Aaron Loup has been a journeyman LHP who has always intrigued me as a potential fit in the Red Sox bullpen. And at 33 years old, in his 10th season, he really seemed to finally put it all together, posting a 0.95 ERA in 56.2 innings for the New York Mets.

While Loup clearly specializes in facing left-handed hitters, he is competent against right-handed batters. Certainly, over the course of his career RH batters have hit for a higher average than left-handers (.258 vs. 224) and get on base more (.327 vs. .291) but in neither case is the number disparity so severe that it cannot work with the new MLB minimum batter rule.

Indeed, Loup substantially elevated his game against RH hitters in 2021, over the course of which they only batted .211. Certainly, a team signing Loup runs the risk of overpaying him based on the season he is coming off of.

The thing is even if he reverted to his 2020 form with the Rays, a season in which he was one of the AL’s most dominant left-handed relievers, Loup would serve as a valuable weapon out of the Red Sox bullpen. Considering Boston’s need for lefty relief options, Loup is a perfect candidate.