Mike Ford
The conversation that's followed Mike Ford's non-tendering by the Mariners has mostly been colored by mild surprise and disappointment, as Ford managed to do serviceable work for Seattle this year. He hit .228/.323/.475 with 16 home runs and 32 RBI in only 83 games so, especially power-wise, he was doing his job. Ford has been a journeyman ever since he left the Yankees in 2019 (he played for five teams and their Triple-A affiliates in 2022 alone), but once he settled in Seattle for the second half of the year, he had his best season since his first one in New York.
At the moment, Boston's options for designated hitters are Trevor Story and Masataka Yoshida. Barring anymore injuries, Story should spend most, if not all, of his time at shortstop next year and Yoshida should split his time between left field and DH, like he did this year. That leaves plenty of games where the Red Sox will be in need of another DH option, which is where Ford could come in.
Although he's clearly a player who has his peaks and valleys, non-tendered players are guaranteed to come at affordable prices for clubs who are looking to add depth and simply want have options available to them throughout a long season. The Red Sox could probably get Ford at league minimum, a drop in the bucket for a $150 million team that could keep alive the career of a veteran who is still capable to coming through for a team.