It’s been a relatively quiet offseason for first-year Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.
Sure, the Red Sox have made some moves. They traded outfielder Alex Verdugo — and seemingly had no problem trading him— and to the Yankees of all teams. They’re taking an almost $40 million chance on starting pitcher Lucas Giolito after a topsy-turvy tour of the American League in 2023. They even paid the Braves to take oft-injured starter and former Boston ace Chris Sale off their hands in exchange for infield prospect Vaughn Grissom.
So, alright, it’s not totally nothing.
But this feels like a far cry from the ‘full throttle’ that was promised.
Aug 9, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta (37) pitches against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Fenway Park. (Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports)
Starting with the most expensive, the Red Sox and right-handed pitcher Nick Pivetta came to terms on a one-year, $7.5 million contract for the 2024 season. Pivetta’s new deal will come with a $2.15 million raise from the $5.35 million price tag Pivetta pitched with for Boston in 2023.
Utilized by the Red Sox in every which way a season ago, Pivetta is coming off a 2023 campaign that included a 10-9 record, career-best 4.04 ERA and .208 batting average against, and a team-leading 183 strikeouts over 142.2 innings of work.
The Canadian-born Pivetta was downright electric in June and July last season, and gave Alex Cora a much-needed do-it-all type of weapon for a pitching staff that was full of question marks.
Barring some sort of (seemingly unlikely) splash for a free-agent start or trade for an ace, Pivetta likely projects to be a key piece of Boston’s 2024 starting rotation.
The 30-year-old Pivetta, who has been with the Sox since 2020, will become a free agent at the end of the 2024 MLB season.
Oct 1, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher John Schreiber (46) delivers in the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. (Mitch Stringer/USA TODAY Sports)
Sticking with Boston’s pitching room, the Red Sox and right-handed reliever John Schreiber avoided arbitration by way of a one-year, $1.175 million contract for the 2024 season.
On the hill for 46 appearances in 2023, Schreiber posted a 2-1 record with 10 holds and a 3.86 ERA for the Red Sox. The 6-foot-2 Schreiber also fanned 53 batters over that 46.2 inning run, but struggled with walks and the long ball compared to his breakout season with Boston in 2022, with a three-homer uptick (six in 2023 compared to three in 2022) and a six walk increase (25 in 2023 compared to 19 in 2022) despite throwing almost 20 fewer innings.
Schreiber dealt with a shoulder injury in May, and seemingly struggled to find his form from there. It’ll be interesting to see if Schreiber can return to that pre-injury form in 2024, and if he can get some added velocity back on his fastball as its average dipped from 94 MPH to 93 MPH from 2022 to 2023.
Jun 10, 2023; Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Reese McGuire during an at-bat against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. (Wendell Cruz/USA TODAY Sports)
Boston’s projected backup catcher for the 2024 season, Reese McGuire and the Red Sox came to terms on a one-year, $1.5 million contract Thursday.
McGuire, who will turn 29 before the start of the 2024 season, is coming off a 2023 that included one home run and 16 RBIs, along with a .267 average, in 72 games for the Red Sox.
The lefty-hitting catcher, who made a hair over $1 million last season, is a veteran of 302 MLB games since 2018 with stints in Toronto, Chicago, and Boston.
Sep 11, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Cardinals center fielder Tyler O’Neill (27) circles the bases on a game winning solo home run against the Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. (Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports)
New addition Tyler O’Neill, meanwhile, will make $5.85 million for the Red Sox in 2024 after striking a deal with the club on Thursday.
Acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals back in December in exchange for two pitchers, the two-time Gold Glove winner’s one-year deal with the Red Sox will come with a slight raise from his $4.95 million salary with the Cardinals in 2023.
In action for 72 games with the Redbirds last year, the righty-swinging O’Neill hammered nine homers, drove in 21 RBIs, and hit .231 with a .715 OPS.
The obvious hope from the Red Sox here is that the 28-year-old can rediscover some of that 2021 magic, when he established career-highs in home runs (34), RBIs (80), batting average (.286), OPS (.912), and hits (138) in 138 games for St. Louis.
Like Pivetta, O’Neill will be a free agent at the end of the 2024 MLB season.
