Red Sox Free Agency: 3 players Boston should sign when the lockout ends

The Red Sox must be aggressive when Free Agency resumes

Here we are, Red Sox Nation. Over a month into the offseason and a little over a week away from Christmas and the baseball world has come to a complete stop. The current CBA has expired and the owners didn’t wait a moment to initiate a lockout. Until the ice thaws between the owners and players, we won’t be getting a whiff of news for the 2022 season.

Chaim Bloom and his team were able to put pen to paper with a few players before things went sideways and their patience could prove wise, but Boston needs to be aggressive when the time comes. I don’t expect the Red Sox front office to start writing blank checks to free agents but I do expect them to address some of their glaring needs from this past season.

It’s no secret that the team could use some help in the bullpen while second base still remains a decent-sized question mark. With plenty of names still on the board, there won’t be a shortage of deals hitting the newswire once the doors open back up on the league and these are three players that the Red Sox should go after.

Red Sox Target #1: Trevor Story

This is one that feels like it could happen pretty soon after the lockout ends as there was some smoke to the rumor fire between the two sides. In the days before things shut down, it was made known that the Red Sox had set their sights on Trevor Story to fill their carousel at second base. Now I’m sure some of you might be scratching your heads here but it all makes sense in the long run.

Xander Bogaerts is likely to opt-out after the season in order to sign a new contract with the Red Sox to finish out his playing days in Boston. It’s been said that he’d be willing to move to second base if the Sox wanted to bring in a big-name shortstop, mainly Carlos Correa if I had to guess, in order to open the spot in the lineup.

I don’t think Story is a big enough name for X to still want to move, so this could mean the former Rockies player would be calling second base his home. This would allow Alex Cora an everyday wuality starter while allowing Christian Arroyo to continue to develop and grow. As much as I love Arroyo, injuries have taken away plenty of playing time away from him and I just don’t know if he’s reliable.

Spotrac has Story’s Market Value listed at a $29.8M AAV which could also be too rich for Chaim’s budget. If they did ink something I could see Bloom shooting for something in the range of $23-25M for a handful of years. It gets the infielder a big raise and secures the position for the foreseeable future, a win-win. Adding Story to the infield alongside Bogey and Rafael Devers is a recipe for success.

Red Sox Target #2: Brad Hand

We’ve looked at securing second base and now it’s time to head to the bullpen to give the relievers, uh, some relief. While there were some other names on the market that I would’ve loved for Chaim to go out and get, he wasn’t going to overpay for someone because the lockout was looming. This is why I think Brad Hand could be a sneaky under the radar signing for the Red Sox bullpen.

Hand spent the entirety of the 2021 season spead among three teams over the American and National leagues. He began the year with the Nationals but would also spend time with the Blue Jays and Mets. His time in the NL went pretty well as he had a 3.59 ERA with the Nats and a 2.70 with the Mets. Unfortunately, his trip north of the border is what sunk is season ERA to a 3.90 as he had a 7.27 ERA with Toronto.

Normally I wouldn’t be trying to sign a guy that couldn’t perform in the AL East but I really feel that his time with the Jays was an aboration. He only pitched in 8 2/3 innings for the Jays before he was designated for assignment. His 42.2 with Washington and 13.1 with New York are far more telling of the type of arm he can be and why I want him.

Hand earned $10.5M in 2021 and I think that fits right into Bloom’s sweetspot as far as budgets are concerned. He can send him an offer in the realm of two-years/$22M and give him a little raise. The Red Sox are in the good graces of the current Luxury Tax and with a new one still undecided, there’s nothing stopping them from getting a little loose with a deal or two.

2022 Red Sox Outlook

Things are looking pretty damn good for the Red Sox coming off of the 2021 season. A year that many had written off before spring training even ended became one that many of us aren’t likely to forget. A dominant first half, a stressful second chapter, and a playoff run that inspired countless numbers of fans. What a ride!

So, now it’s time to turn things over to 2022 and being to work toward another Commissoner’s Trophy. When the ALCS came to it’s conclusion it was clear that the tank was finally empty. A grind to end the regular season took it’s toll when the World Series was within reach. Some help for the rotation, and extra quality reliever or two, and some strong defenders could all change that.

It wasn’t one catostrophic thing that sunk Boston against the Astros but several tiny mistakes, a death by 1000 cuts. White-hot bats suddenly going ice-cold. A lights-out bullpen that began to leave the lights on for opposing hitters. And defense that had been questionable all season long completely cracked and crumbled.

Again, this team wasn;t supposed to be good, they surely weren’t supposed to knock off the Yankees, Rays, and come within two games of eliminating the Astros. Things are well ahead of schedule in Boston and that’s more than encouraging. If Chaim Bloom has the full support of FSG, and it appears that he does, I expect him to finish the offseason strong and field the best team he possibly can going into 2022.