With Craig Breslow at the helm in the midst of free agency, the Red Sox have made it clear that they want to spend money to upgrade key postions to return to playoff glory. But that doesn't mean that the team can't continue to find lower cost Bloom-esque deals to shore up some of the depth that the Major League team has been lacking. In the spirit of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, here are three lower tier veteran free agents that the team could benefit from taking a flier on.
1. Tim Anderson
This is not to say that Anderson's 2023 season was anything short of disappointing for the White Sox. The key factor here is that we have seen what Anderson can do when fully healthy and in a positon to succeed. The White Sox last season were a dumpster fire to say the least, with many instances showing the lack of effort from the team as a whole.
The former All-Star and batting title winner struggled to find his power numbers, as did most of the White Sox team. Anderson is a prime candidate for a change of scenery, and he would slot in nicely at second base for the Red Sox in 2024. A one year prove it deal, similar to that of Cody Bellinger would lessen the pressure on Marcelo Mayer to perform well and get the call to the majors in 2024.
With Mayer coming off a down season between High A and AA, the team could benefit from giving their crown jewel prospect more time to develop. Anderson is certainly capable of hitting for average and power much more than we saw last season, and a change of scenery on a one year prove it deal could bring him back to All-Star status.