Craig Breslow and the Boston Red Sox entered the 2023-24 offseason saying that they were going to go “full throttle” when it came to addressing this team’s needs.
Particularly on the pitching front, with the Red Sox in clear need of some upgrades in their rotation.
It didn’t take long for full throttle to look like “fully throttled,” however, especially with marquee names.
The Red Sox were never going to seriously be in the market for a Shohei Ohtani. That much seems obvious when you look back at it. But Boston’s pitch for Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto seemed real, with reports indicating that the Red Sox were among those willing to go over $300 million to bring Yamamoto to Boston.
That, as we all know, did not happen.
The Red Sox didn’t even win the ‘bidding war’ for Seth Lugo, another name they were linked to in the early days of free agency, and lost out on the ex-Padres starter to the Royals.
So while ‘full throttle’ looks a bit more like ‘your Uber will arrive in 19 minutes throttle’, it’s worth wondering just what is left for the Red Sox on the starting pitching front. And who fits their for-some-reason limited budget.
Jordan Montgomery
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 03: Jordan Montgomery of the Rangers reacts at the end of the seventh inning against the Rays during the Wild Card Series at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Since the start of free agency, really, it’s felt like Jordan Montgomery is and was the perfect fit for the Red Sox. Beyond the normal context clues that linked Montgomery and the Sox as a legitimate fit, Montgomery even moved to Boston earlier this year. I mean, come on. It’s staring ’em in the face! But here we are, approaching 2024, and Montgomery remains unsigned by the Sox (or any team for that matter).
A World Series winner with Texas this past season, the 6-foot-6 lefty is coming off a 2023 campaign that included 10 wins and a career-high 166 strikeouts in 32 starts between the Cardinals and Rangers. The 31-year-old also posted a career-best 3.20 ERA in his 188.2 innings of work between St. Louis and Texas, and his 3.56 FIP was another career-best figure for the South Carolina-born hurler.
Montgomery is a veteran of 140 MLB starts between the Yankees, Cardinals, and Rangers, and has posted a 38-34 career record and 3.68 ERA over that 755-inning sample.
It’ll be interesting if Montgomery has a hot market and has effectively been ‘priced’ out of Boston’s range after Yamamoto crashed the market with a contract worth almost $330 million.
It’s also worth wondering if the Sox are a little bit concerned with Montgomery’s ability to be a lefty who succeeds at Fenway Park, as Montgomery has posted a 4.00 ERA and surrendered five home runs in 36 career innings at Fenway, and if that doomsday scenario is spooking them away from paying Montgomery’s desired price or even his market value.
Blake Snell
Sep 19, 2023; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Blake Snell (4) throws a pitch against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning at Petco Park. (Orlando Ramirez/USA TODAY Sports)
The reigning National League Cy Young winner, lefty Blake Snell remains in search of work after a 2023 campaign that included 14 wins and a league-leading 2.25 ERA in 180 innings of work over 32 starts for San Diego.
Snell’s 2023 Cy Young win was the second of his career (he won his first with a 21-win, 1.89 ERA season with the Rays back in 2018), and there’s no denying that the 30-year-old is among the more intriguing options remaining on the market. Of course, his price seems to be the biggest obstacle for most, with many pundits and algorithms alike projecting that Snell would earn a contract that could range from $125 million to $200 million depending on the years on that deal (the lower of the two figures seems to be the thinking on a five-year deal, for what it’s worth).
That money is likely too rich for the Sox, at least if we’re to believe the latest reporting on the situation. But if the market for Snell remains dry and the price comes down a touch — or if he’s a late-in-the-game signing like J.D. Martinez and Trevor Story were for previous Red Sox regimes — it will be interesting to see if the Red Sox get involved if and when the price begins to dip.
With Snell, walks are a definite issue (his 5.0 walks issued per nine innings last year were his most since 5.2 walks per nine in his rookie season), and with the walks come higher pitch counts and his inability to eat innings at the rate you’d prefer when it comes to pitchers making $25 million or so per season.
Snell has posted solid numbers at Fenway in his career, in case you’re wondering, with three wins, a 3.10 ERA, and just one home run allowed in 29 innings of work in five career games in Boston.
Marcus Stroman
Jul 15, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (0) throws the ball against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning at Wrigley Field. (David Banks/USA TODAY Sports)
If the Red Sox are looking for a guy who can go deep into games — and pitch well deep into those games — Marcus Stroman may be one of the best bets remaining on the open market.
A Cub for the last two seasons, the 5-foot-7 Stroman is coming off a 2023 that featured 10 wins and batters hitting just .231 off him over a 25-start season. An All-Star for the second time in his career this past season, Stroman’s 7.8 strikeouts per nine was the third-best single-season mark of his career, while his 0.6 home runs surrendered per nine was the second-best single-season figure of his nine-year career.
Another interesting angle here: New Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow obviously knows quite a bit about Stroman from their time together with the Cubs. In fact, Breslow probably had an up-close view of just how dominant Stroman was for the Cubs for the first three months of the 2023 season.
And Stroman, who broke into the league with the Blue Jays and also had a run with the Mets prior to joining Chicago, has plenty of experience with the American League East.
Shota Imanaga
MIAMI, FLORIDA – MARCH 21: Shota Imanaga #21 of Team Japan pitches in the first inning against Team USA during the World Baseball Classic Championship at loanDepot park on March 21, 2023. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
The best Japanese pitcher not named Yamamoto, lefty Shota Imanaga is still looking for his MLB landing spot after posting a 7-5 record, 2.66 ERA, and career-high 188 strikeouts for Yokohama in 2023.
When talking about the 30-year-old Imanaga, you’re talking about a pitcher who has a straight-up deep arsenal. This guy can work in about six different pitches with considerable regularity. As for his potential MLB success, it seems like it may very well depend on where Imanaga calls home, as he’s been victimized by the long ball in the NPB, with 26 home runs surrendered on his fastball since 2022.
Overall, the 5-foot-10 Imanaga has posted a 74-55 record and 2.96 ERA in eight seasons in Japan.
James Paxton
Aug 21, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher James Paxton (65) pitches against the Houston Astros in the first inning at Minute Maid Park. (Thomas Shea/USA TODAY Sports)
With all this talk about the external options, a reunion with an old friend remains in the table for the Red Sox, with multiple reports indicating that the team remains in talks with James Paxton about a return.
On the hill for 19 starts lat season, Paxton posted a 7-5 record, 4.50 ERA, and 101 strikeouts in 96 innings of work, and in what was his heaviest workload since throwing 150.2 innings for the Yankees in 2019. The 6-foot-4 Paxton also had a run where he was without question the club’s best pitcher, too, with a 3-0 record and 1.74 ERA in five starts in the month of June.
Injuries will always be a concern with the 35-year-old Paxton, but he may very well be a secondary option that actually fits in Boston’s budget for 2024.
Mike Clevinger
Sep 24, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Mike Clevinger (52) pitches during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)
Considered a back-end of the rotation type of arm, Mike Clevinger posted a 9-9 record, 3.77 ERA, and 110 strikeouts in 131.1 innings of work for the White Sox in 2023.
The 33-year-old had pockets of excellent work (and on a downright horrendous White Sox squad), but dealt with injuries once again, with absences due to both wrist and biceps injuries. Injuries have seemingly always been the problem for the 2011 fourth-round pick, really, with his biggest injury hurdle coming back in 2020 with the Tommy John surgery that kept him on the shelf for all of 2021.
Clevinger has also struggled with the longball, with 16 home runs surrendered over his 24-start 2023 season, and 20 home runs allowed in 22 games in 2022.
But given his age and the injury concerns, Clevinger is unlikely to earn a long-term contract, and may be perfectly in line with Boston’s thinking as a short-term, stopgap option in the rotation.
Rich Hill
Sep 10, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Rich Hill (41) delivers a pitch during the eighth inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. (Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports)
In the league since forever, veteran lefty Rich Hill will be 44 years old when the 2024 MLB season begins. And the Massachusetts native has made it known that he would like to continue playing (pretty sure they’re going to have drag this guy out of the league). He’s even talked about pitching ‘half a season’ in 2024.
Hill’s desire to play half a season could make him an interesting midseason add for a club, but it’s also entirely possible that he’ll need to build himself back up to a certain degree following last year’s rough finish with San Diego (1-4 record with an 8.23 ERA and 1.72 WHIP in 27.1 innings of work) and prove to potential contenders that he still has some juice left in the tank.
That may be in line with what the Red Sox are looking for in the sense that the backend of their rotation is littered with question marks and could use somebody who can throw up a decent four of five innings every fifth day. Hill is also more than familiar with the city and the organization through two different stints with the franchise, and has said in the past he’s always envisioned himself coming back to the Red Sox in “some capacity.” Perhaps that capacity is on a third run, where he’s either a steady arm at the end of the rotation or shipped to a contender at the trade deadline.
Hill posted an 8-14 record and 5.41 ERA in 32 games (27 starts) between Pittsburgh and San Diego in 2023.
Alex Wood
Sep 24, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Alex Wood (57) throws to the plate in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports)
You know, it wasn’t all that long ago that lefty Alex Wood looked like yet another ace in the L.A. deck. On the board with 16 wins and a 2.72 ERA in 25 starts in 2017, Wood earned an All-Star nomination and finished the year ninth in the voting for the National League Cy Young. Wood is far from a Cy Young contender these days, obviously, but after three years with the Giants, the 32-year-old is back on the market and as one of the more versatile threats available.
On the San Fran bump for 29 outings (12 starts), Wood racked up a 5-5 record, 4.33 ERA, and fanned 74 batters over 97.2 innings. Walks were a definite issue for Wood (his 3.9 walks per nine in 2023 was the second-worst figure of his 11-year career), and he didn’t earn punchouts at his normal rate, so there’s some obvious concern when it comes to his effectiveness.
But Wood did play under ex-Giants pitching coach and now current Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey during that three-season run in The Bay, so maybe there’s something hidden beneath the surface that Bailey and the Red Sox feel that they could get out of the veteran arm.
Michael Lorenzen
Sep 11, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen (22) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. (Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports)
Splitting the 2023 season between Detroit and Philadelphia, Michael Lorenzen put up nine wins in 18 decisions, posted a 4.18 ERA, and struck out a career-high 111 batters. Lorenzen. who was Detroit’s rep in the 2023 All-Star Game, also set career-highs in innings pitched (153).
In Philly, Lorenzen was used as both a starter and reliever, and had a postseason run that included a strikeout, two walks, and two hits allowed in 2.2 innings of work over two appearances.
One interesting note with Lorenzen: The 31-year-old initially broke into baseball as an outfielder, and is a career .233 hitter with seven home runs in 133 career at-bats. He’s also expressed some desire to be a dual-threat type of player and return to the outfield when not pitching. If there’s one thing the Red Sox wouldn’t mind, it’s having the dollar store version of a Shohei Ohtani type to help maximize their roster flexibility.
Sean Manaea
Aug 5, 2023; Oakland, California, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Sean Manaea (52) throws a pitch against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. (Darren Yamashita/USA TODAY Sports)
Another San Francisco pitcher with ties to new Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey (and another pitcher who can work out of the bullpen or as a member of a starting rotation), Sean Manaea is looking for work following a 2023 season that featured a 7-6 record and 4.44 ERA in 37 games (10 starts).
Deployed for 117.2 innings of work in all last season, the lefty-throwing Manaea had some strong numbers all things considered, with his best career strikeouts per nine innings rate (9.79) and with the second best K% of his career (25.7 percent). Manaea also did a ton of damage with his ever-improving fastball, and paired that with some quality breaking pitches to leave batters guessing.
One obvious concern: Manaea has spent his career in Oakland, San Diego, and San Francisco. All three of those teams play their home games in what you would consider pitcher-friendly stadiums. That’s not exactly the case with Fenway Park or the rest of the American League East for that matter. And those concerns could be especially glaring when it comes to Fenway, as the 31-year-old’s posted a 1-3 record, 15.70 ERA, and surrendered 25 earned runs on 39 hits (six home runs) in 14.1 innings of work in Boston.
Assuming they are not completely spooked by the idea of Manaea calling Fenway home — and given the Bailey connection, as well as the fact that he’s a lefty — Manaea seems like a potential depth option for Boston on their quest for back-end rotational or early-game out of the pen pitching help.
Lucas Giolito
Sep 15, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Guardians pitcher Lucas Giolito (27) reacts after striking out Texas Rangers right fielder Robbie Grossman (not pictured) during the seventh inning at Progressive Field. (Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports)
Another name who’s been linked to Boston multiple times since the start of free agency, Lucas Giolito went on a personal tour of the American League in 2023, with stops in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Cleveland. On the mound for a league-leading 33 starts, the eight-season verteran posted an 8-15 record, and surrendered what was a league-high 41 home runs in 184.1 innings.
The 6-foot-6 Giolito is a straight shooter who relies heavily on his fastball (he threw his four-seam fastball 42 percent of the time in 2023), and turns 30 next summer. He may very well be one of the most unpredictable options available to a club this offseason, all things considered.
But there’s always been considerable promise with the 2012 first-round pick, and beyond his ‘top prospect’ status from back in the day.
With the White Sox from 2017 to 2023, Giolito had a terrific three-season run from 2019 through 2021 that saw him post two top-seven Cy Young finishes, and earn an All-Star nomination in 2019.
Giolito’s best season over that stretch came with a 14-win 2019 campaign, which also saw him fan a career-high 228 batters.
Overall, the California-born righty has compiled a 61-62 record, with a 4.43 ERA and 1,077 strikeouts in 1,013.2 innings since 2016.
Domingo German
Jul 18, 2023; Anaheim, California, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German (0) throws against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)
Another name linked to Boston’s hunt for pitching help, it just last month that the Red Sox were listed among those ‘very interested’ in starter Domingo German, according to Mike Rodriguez.
A Yankee since 2017, the 31-year-old German posted a 5-7 record, along with a 4.56 ERA and 114 strikeouts, in 20 games (19 starts) with the Bombers in 2023. German did post career-highs in WHIP (1.08) and BAA (.207) over his 108.2-inning sample, and he even threw a perfect game, but it wasn’t enough for the Yankees to have any sort of interest in retaining his services beyond this past season.
Beyond his on-field consistency issues, German also had some significant off-field issues, including a move to the restricted list in Aug. 2023 after he entered an inpatient treatment facility for issues with alcohol abuse.
German was also suspended 81 games by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in 2020 for violating Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy after he physically assaulted his wife at a charity event hosted by Yankees teammate CC Sabathia. According to reports, German slapped his wife while drunk, and was ‘violent’ until his wife ultimately hid in a locked room.
German has a 31-28 record and 4.41 career ERA in 112 games with New York since the 2017 season.
Hyun-jin Ryu
Sep 23, 2023; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Hyun Jin Ryu (99) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the fifth inning at Tropicana Field. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA TODAY Sports)
Another potential buy-low veteran candidate, the 36-year-old Hyun-jin Ryu is looking for a home after spending the last four seasons with the Blue Jays, and after a 2023 campaign that was delayed due to his recovery from Tommy John surgery in 2022.
Limited to just 11 starts in 2023, Ryu posted a 3-3 record with a 3.46 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 52 innings for the Jays.
Ryu’s entire Toronto tenure was a bit of a mixed bag (not all his fault, though, to be fair), as the Korean-born lefty wrapped up his $80 million contract with the club with a 24-15 record, 3.97 ERA, and 269 strikeouts over 315 innings. Prior to his time with the Jays, Ryu played six seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and compiled a 54-33 record and 2.98 ERA.
Known for his change-up, Ryu is a middle-of-the-road rotation piece, and could be someone that the Red Sox sign with the hopes of flipping him for something better at the deadline.
Brandon Woodruff
Sep 11, 2023; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff (53) high fives teammates following the game against the Miami Marlins at American Family Field. (Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports)
As it stands right now, the odds of Brandon Woodruff pitching in 2024 seem slim at best.
That’s because the 30-year-old, career-long Brewer underwent surgery in October to repair the ‘anterior capsule’ in his throwing shoulder. Now, Woodruff’s need to go under the knife felt like it was a long time coming, to be honest, as he had to battle through arm and shoulder issues throughout the 2023 season, and was limited to just 11 starts because of it. (It seemed somewhat Chris Sale-esque in terms of how it bothered him and ultimately limited his availability for the Brewers.)
Still, Woodruff was effective when on the mound for Milwaukee, with a 5-1 record, 74 strikeouts, and career-best marks in ERA (2.28) and batting average against (.172) in 67 innings of work.
And if this is another bridge year for the Red Sox — if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, etc. — perhaps committing to Woodruff for multiple years at the expense of his 2024 season is the kind of three-steps-ahead move that the Sox would want out of Breslow.
This would by all means a higher-tier level of Boston’s move for James Paxton two years ago.
A two-time All-Star during his seven-year run in Milwaukee, Woodruff was at his best during a 2021 season that included 211 strikeouts and a fifth-place finish in the National League Cy Young voting, and has a career record of 46-26 with a 3.10 ERA and 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings in 130 career games.
Frankie Montas
Sep 9, 2022; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Frankie Montas (47) pitches in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. (Wendell Cruz/USA TODAY Sports)
Another project of sorts, a reunion with Frankie Montas (the Red Sox traded him to Chicago in the dal that brought Jake Peavy to Boston) could make sense for the Red Sox if they’re looking for bargain-bin, high-ceiling types to potentially bolster their staff in 2024.
Shoulder surgery just before the start of the 2023 season limited the 30-year-old Montas to just one MLB appearance this past season, with Montas earning the win with 1.1 innings of shutout ball in a Sept. 30 appearance against the Royals.
Prior to that, however, Montas was looking like a potential find, particularly with a 2021 campaign that saw Montas rack up a career-high 13 wins and 207 strikeouts in 187 innings of work over 32 starts for Oakland. That year was enough for Montas to finish sixth in the American League Cy Young voting.
Prior to his shoulder injury, Montas was considered a pitcher who got great results with his fastball and split-fingered fastball, and perhaps a healthier arm in 2024 can allow Bailey and the Red Sox to unlock the form that’s eluded Montas since that 2021 run.
