It’s been a weird few days for the Red Sox.
After losing out on José Abreu, they thought they’d reeled in former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin. Instead, he parlayed their offer into an identical one from the Tampa Bay Rays and is signing with them, instead. Locking him in for three years and $40M was a risk given his injury history, so don’t let this keep you up at night.
Instead, the Sox made a pretty significant addition to the bullpen. News broke Friday evening that they’re in agreement with Chris Martin (no, not the Coldplay guy) on a two-year, $17.5M deal. Martin owns the lowest walk rate among active pitchers (min. 200 innings), a welcome addition to the arm barn whose collective 9.9% BB rate ranked 6th-worst in the majors in 2022. His MLB origin story is pretty cool, too.
David Ortiz is once again reminding the Red Sox that he would like them to bring Xander Bogaerts home. They’d be wise to listen to the man who brought them three trophies.
More from David Ortiz on Xander Bogaerts:
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) December 2, 2022
“You always know what to expect from him. He goes about his business in the right way and he’s never somebody the fan base has to worry about. That’s special, man. You want to keep a guy like that.”
All quiet on the Rafael Devers front, which is a bit unsettling…
More Red Sox news
- Mitch Haniger is of interest to the Sox. Expect him to command a three-year deal for about $15M/year.
- The Red Sox outrighted catcher Ronaldo Hernández to Triple-A on Friday, presumably to make room for Martin.
- The Padres, Diamondbacks, Cubs, Dodgers, Phillies, and Giants are among those interested in Bogaerts.
MLB news
- The Texas Rangers set Twitter aflame by signing Jacob deGrom to a five-year, $185M deal. Check on the New York Mets fans in your life.
- The Seattle Mariners acquired Kolten Wong from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Jesse Winker and Abraham Toro.
- The Padres have met with SS Trea Turner twice, which could be good news for the Red Sox.
- The Philadelphia Phillies are reportedly interested in SS Carlos Correa, which could also be good news for the Red Sox, but they have meetings scheduled this weekend with representatives for Correa, Bogaerts, Turner, and Dansby Swanson.
Boston Red Sox offseason news, rumors, 2023 payroll, luxury tax, and more
Everything you need to know about the Red Sox 2022-2023 offseason! Payrolls, arbitration, free agents, transactions, luxury tax, payroll, rumors, and more.