5 pitchers the Red Sox could sign and remain under the luxury tax

Starting pitching, or lack thereof, has been the name of the game the last few seasons for the Boston Red Sox. The lack of starting depth cost them in 2023, as a free-fall at the end of August and all of September led to their second straight last-place finish in the American League East.

The offseason brought largely crickets in the starting pitching department — the Sox signed only Cooper Criswell, who has just two games of big-league starting experience, and Lucas Giolito. Now, Giolito is out long-term with an elbow injury that requires surgery, leaving the Red Sox in an even more precarious position than ever before.

There is a set of parameters for this winter's spending which may not allow Craig Breslow to go over the luxury tax threshold, or seemingly near it. With the first luxury tax threshold at $237 million for 2024 and the Red Sox payroll hovering around $161 million, they still have lots of wiggle room.

There is still time for upgrades to the starting rotation to make a dire situation a little less so. The Red Sox could sign any of these free-agent pitchers and remain under the first threshold.

5 pitchers the Red Sox could sign and remain under the luxury tax

Jordan Montgomery

It's well into spring training and Jordan Montgomery has not signed with Boston. It's the most obvious match of player and team all winter and it hasn't happened. Montgomery is everything the Red Sox need, both before the Giolito injury and after.

The most important thing is that Montgomery has been a good pitcher the last few years and was a playoff warrior in 2023, so he'd be the top-of-the-rotation arm the Red Sox sorely need right now. He's also able to throw a lot of innings, surpassing 155 innings pitched in each of the last three seasons. He is healthy more often than not, which is also something the Red Sox haven't had a lot of luck with recently.

Montgomery is a lefty, which is another big need for the Red Sox in the rotation. Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck, and Criswell are all righties, with no clear lefty starter option in sight.

There aren't a lot of teams pursuing Montgomery right now, it's basically a staring contest between him and the Red Sox. Boston needed to sign Montgomery before Giolito went down, and it's a move it still needs to make now.

Blake Snell

Just like Montgomery, Blake Snell is somehow still on the open market in March. The reasons are a little different, but it's still not good for baseball that two of the top 10 pitchers entering free agency are still without a team with Opening Day just a few weeks away.

Like Montgomery, Snell is the answer at the top of the rotation for the Red Sox, bringing a Cy Young award in both leagues and two ERA titles to the table. Snell is also a lefty, so he would bring a different flair to an all-righty rotation in Boston.

The concerns for Snell are clearer than Montgomery's, the most glaring being his lack of durability. 2023 was the first year Snell made more than 30 starts since 2018, with the common denominator also being the Cy Youngs and ERA titles. He also rarely goes farther than five or six innings into a game, which doesn't help reset a bullpen either.

The fact that Snell has only two seasons of 30 starts and that he doesn't go deep into games are red flags for sure. However, the Red Sox shouldn't pass up a two-time Cy Young winner who has a lot of the skills that they need in the rotation right now.

Michael Lorenzen

While not a top-of-the-rotation arm like Snell and Montgomery, Michael Lorenzen would still be a helpful piece in the middle of the rotation for the Red Sox. Relying on the likes of Whitlock, Houck, and Criswell in the rotation is a gamble, and bringing in even a mid-rotation arm like Lorenzen would be a good addition.

Lorenzen certainly had his struggles in 2023. After a promising first half of the season with the Detroit Tigers, he was dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies at the trade deadline. After throwing a no-hitter in his first start with the team, he struggled as he ended the season with a 5.51 ERA and 1.46 WHIP while also being demoted to the bullpen.

While there are clearly some road bumps with Lorenzen, he had things pretty well put together with the Tigers in the first half of of the season. Lorenzen is also a swingman so he could be an addition for the bullpen as well. But starting pitching is Boston's biggest need, so if the Red Sox are going to sign him, it should be as a starter.

Mike Clevinger

Mike Clevinger would be a mid-rotation upgrade for the Red Sox, the same as Lorenzen would be. He is a better option than Lorenzen, however, and he wouldn't exactly be a bad fit for the Red Sox either.

He was stuck in purgatory on the Chicago White Sox last year, which is why the sneaky good season he had flew under the radar. He posted a 3.77 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 131.1 innings last season over 24 starts.

Clevinger's injury history does present a concern. He missed all but one start in July due to a bicep injury and also missed time early in the season with a wrist ailment. He's also just a few seasons removed from Tommy John surgery that kept him out for all of 2021.

Given the state of the Red Sox staff right now, they shouldn't be picky. He is coming off a solid year with the White Sox and would help bump Pivetta and Crawford down a spot in the rotation, which would only be a good thing.