After spending the vast majority of the 2024 season stuck in neutral, the Boston Red Sox have their work cut out for them this offseason. The club needs help all around the 26-man roster, highlighted by a need for a top-end starter and a bat with some thump to inject into the middle of their lineup.
Even with the large contracts of Rafael Devers, Lucas Giolito, Trevor Story and Masataka Yoshida on their payroll, the Red Sox are in a position to add some big names this winter.
The industry certainly expects the Red Sox to be active. On MLB Trade Rumors' annual top 50 free agents list, at least one of their four panelists picked Boston to keep Nick Pivetta and land Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, Clay Holmes. What an offseason that would be.
Then there's NBC Sports Boston's Red Sox insider John Tomase, who hands out some free agent predictions as well as the contracts he thinks they'll sign. According to Tomase, Max Fried, Teoscar Hernández and David Robertson will be Boston-bound this winter, which would be an outstanding haul for the AL East hopefuls.
Red Sox insider hands out 3 Red Sox free agent picks for the offseason
In these hypothetical scenarios, Fried would join the Red Sox on a five-year, $140 million contract, which comes out to an average annual value (AAV) of $28 million per season, which would be just a hair under what Devers will earn over the next few years.
Landing Fried, who has been one of baseball's best starting pitchers for years now, at that price would be perfect for the Red Sox. The 30-year-old had one of the "worst" seasons of his eight-year career in 2024 by going 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA and 128 ERA+ while making his second All-Star Game in the process. His "down" year shows how dominant Fried has been since he debuted in 2017. He's one of the most consistent pitchers in the league and would be a huge get for Boston.
Hernández, 32, would give the Red Sox the power bat they desperately need. He hit a career-high 33 home runs in 2024, made his second All-Star Game and posted a 137 OPS+ that put his overall production at a cool 37 percent above the league average.
TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ GRAND SLAM!
— MLB (@MLB) October 9, 2024
WHAT IS GOING ON????? #NLDS pic.twitter.com/urE1xfJIQD
Hernández showed up when it mattered most for the Dodgers as well, hitting two home runs in the NLDS as well as another blast during the World Series. He brings a ton of experience and power to the Red Sox and the three-year, $69 million contract ($23 million AAV) Tomase predicts for him would be a welcomed addition to the crew. If the Red Sox end up losing Tyler O'Neill to free agency, Hernández would be quite the upgrade in left field for the foreseeable future.
That brings us to Robertson, one of baseball's most experienced relief pitchers. He just wrapped up his 16th season in the big leagues by making 68 appearances for the Rangers, which is the second most games he's pitched in since 2018.
The right-hander remains a high-strikeout pitcher and he did a great job at raising his strikeout rate while lowering his walk rate compared to recent seasons. At 39 years old, he seems to be still functioning at a well above league-average rate, so the one-year, $14 million contract Tomase thinks Boston should throw his way would be a nice get.