4 needs the Boston Red Sox must address this offseason
Who is going to be the man in right next year for the Red Sox?
The Red Sox currently have Alex Verdugo in right field, but they could have the option to upgrade at the position and either move Verdugo back to left field or trade him to help strengthen other weaknesses.
There are a few options this offseason for the Red Sox to take a look at. This offseason Joey Gallo, Andrew Benintendi, Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler (if he opts out), Tyler Naquin, and probably the most prized possession in the MLB free agency of the outfielders Aaron Judge.
If the Red Sox were to go after Gallo, Benintendi, Pederson, Soler, or Naquin were to be signed by the Red Sox, I doubt Verdugo would be moved to left. The only way I see Verdugo being sent back to left field for the Red Sox is if they were to pull off one of the biggest moves in the history of the Red Sox and Yankees rivalry and sign Aaron Judge.
After turning down a sizable extension from the Yankees, Judge bet on himself and went on a tear in 2022, breaking the American League single-season home run record. Signing Judge would obviously improve their offense and help the Sox get back into title contention. Having a lineup with Devers, Trevor Story, Kiké Hernández, Judge, Verdugo, Hosmer/Casas, and hopefully, Bogaerts, would be very scary for other teams.
However, the Red Sox already need to lock down Devers and Bogaerts, and I would not sacrifice either of them to bring Judge to the Red Sox. I highly doubt the Red Sox would make this big splash, but if it were to happen, it would be fantastic and would make the baseball world lose its mind.
Which pitchers will be in the 2023 Red Sox starting rotation?
The 2022 starting rotation was a merry-go-round, with the number of pitchers making starts for the Sox numbering in the double digits.
As of now, the starting rotation for 2023 will be Nick Pivetta, Chris Sale, James Paxton, Garrett Whitlock, and Brayan Bello. The Sox also extended a Qualifying Offer to Nathan Eovaldi this week, and it’s hard to see him turning down a salary of over $19M.
Sale has been one of the most unlucky pitchers in baseball since the Sox won the World Series in 2018. An injury-shortened 2019 season led to Tommy John surgery in April 2020. He returned in August 2021, but then missed the first few months of the 2022 season to heal from a stress fracture in his ribs. When he returned from the rib injury, he broke his pinky on a comebacker from Aaron Hicks in his second start of the season, requiring surgery. While rehabbing that injury, he was in a bike accident and broke his wrist, requiring a second surgery.
At the GM Meetings in Las Vegas this week, the Sox revealed that Garrett Whitlock will be a starter in 2023. In his nine starts in 2022, he posted a 4.15 ERA, a number skewed by a rough start against Seattle.
Every single Red Sox team that has been successful has had a solid closer!
The Red Sox know just how crucial a solid closer is, and what it’s like not to have one. In fact, every Sox team that has won the World Series in the last two decades had a reliable closer. In 2004, it was Keith Foulke, then Jonathan Papelbon in 2007, Koji Uehara in 2013, and Craig Kimbrel in 2018.
This year, the number of pitchers who went out to the mound for a save opportunity number in the double digits, and the Red Sox were still one of the worst teams in terms of blown saves.
With Whitlock moving to the rotation, there are a few internal options for the closer role. Matt Barnes, John Schrieber, and Tanner Houck could all be potentially named closer since each was somewhat successful in save opportunities; Barnes went 5/7, Schrieber went 8/11, and Houck went 8/9.
The Sox can also look outside the organization, but the top arms are already going quickly. The New York Mets wasted no time giving Edwin Diaz an enormous extension. If the Sox want to shut opponents down next year, they need to speed things up now.
