3 former Red Sox players that could return to Boston this offseason
The Red Sox could turn to some familiar faces to help them turn things around.
The Boston Red Sox are a team trying to get back on track. They've finished at the bottom of the AL East in three of the last four years and have missed the playoffs in four of the last five.
New Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow has a lot of work ahead of him in his quest to put Boston back in contention. There are some nice core pieces on the team, but the ones surrounding the core could sure use an upgrade.
One way Boston can find the upgrades they need is by finding players they've had in the past and have had some success with. These players have worked in Boston before and would be solid fits on the 2024 team as well.
1) Eduardo Rodriguez
The most obvious reunion candidate on this list is obviously Eduardo Rodriguez. The southpaw spent six seasons in Beantown and had some memorable moments. He wound up playing a role out of the bullpen in their 2018 World Series run and finished sixth in the AL Cy Young balloting in 2019.
Rodriguez has spent the last two seasons in Detroit, but opted out of the five-year contract he signed with the Tigers in the 2021 offseason. The reason he walked away from the three years and $49 million he was owed was because he, when healthy, was one of the best pitchers in the American League this past season.
Rodriguez posted a 3.30 ERA in 26 starts and 152 2/3 innings pitched this past season for the Tigers. The Red Sox could sure use that kind of production at the top of their rotation.
While Boston might prefer to ink pitchers like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, or Jordan Montgomery to contracts, they'll all require a much larger financial commitment. Signing Rodriguez would allow Boston to bring in a plethora of other free agents, helping them build a more complete roster as a whole.
2) Adam Ottavino
The Red Sox acquired Adam Ottavino in a salary dump with the Yankees in the 2020 offseason. He was coming off an abysmal year in the short season, and was supposed to play a key role adding a boost to a bullpen than needed it.
Ottavino's year in Boston featured its ups and downs. He had a dominant first half but really struggled down the stretch. Fortunately, those struggles did not trickle into the postseason as he allowed just one run in his five outings, albeit in low leverage.
The right-hander moved onto play for the other New York team after that one season with the Red Sox and put together back-to-back quality seasons with the Mets. His flaws remain glaring, but when he's on, he's very good.
The 37-year-old possesses one of the nastiest sliders in all of baseball even with a bit of a decline in stuff overall, and also held the opposition to a .208 batting average against. He did get some batted ball luck, but he ranked in the 95th percentile in barrel rate and the 92nd percentile in ground ball rate according to baseball savant. Forcing the opposition into weakly hit ground balls sounds like a decent recipe for success to me.
The walk and stolen base issues Ottavino have had throughout his career remain an issue, but the negatives are outweighed by the positives. He had a 3.21 ERA in 66 appearances for the Mets this past season, and has been mostly reliable throughout his career. The Red Sox could use another late-game arm to pair with Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin, and Ottavino could be it at a relatively cheap cost.
3) Michael Wacha
The Red Sox signed Michael Wacha in the 2021 offseason when his value was extremely low. He was coming off back-to-back down years with the Mets and Rays the two seasons prior, and was looking to replace Eduardo Rodriguez in Boston's rotation.
While the right-hander did miss time due to a pair of injuries, when he was healthy, he was great. In 23 starts with the Red Sox he posted a 3.32 ERA in 127 1/3 innings of work. He's never been a huge strikeout guy but he located extremely well and limited home runs at a decent clip. Wacha was one bright spot in an awful rotation overall.
The Red Sox inexplicably signed Corey Kluber while letting Wacha go to San Diego. We know how Kluber turned out in Boston, and Wacha continued to flourish. He missed more time due to injury which remains a very obvious concern, but in the 24 starts he was able to make, the 32-year-old posted a 3.22 ERA in 134 1/3 innings pitched. He once again proved to be a bright spot in a disappointing year for his team.
With Wacha you know what you're going to get. He probably won't give Boston 30+ starts, but he can give 20-25 and give them a chance to win a large majority of them. He's not an ace, nor should he be treated like one. Sticking Wacha in the middle of the rotation while adding another high-end arm would suddenly transform this rotation to an awful one to one that could maybe do some things.
The Red Sox need to add multiple starters for the team to even dream of competing in 2024. Wacha should not be the best one, but he'd be a quality option for Breslow to target.
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