Red Sox Listed Among Five Suiters For Premier Hurler To Bolster Rotation
The Boston Red Sox have whiffed on a myriad of starting pitchers this offseason in what has become a trend in recent years.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was able to land right-hander Lucas Giolito but the veteran revealed in his opening press conference with Boston that his market was not large.
As for Breslow, he whiffed on Japanese stars Yoshinobu Yamamoto and even Shōta Imanaga, whose contract appears to be modest. Boston was also in on Seth Lugo but failed to outbid the Kansas City Royals — yes, you read that right.
Now they are backed against the wall and in desperate need of a frontline starter.
Fortunately, they have at least been linked to a strong candidate to fill the void.
The Red Sox, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants are the five clubs that are in on right-hander Marcus Stroman, The New York Post’s Jon Heyman told Bleacher Report on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old posted a 3.95 ERA with a 119-to-52 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .231 batting average against and 1.26 WHIP in 136 2/3 innings with the Chicago Cubs last season.
His path to getting there, however, was not normal. Stroman led the National League with a 2.28 ERA on June 20 and appeared to be on his way to a massive payday. A couple of injuries placed him in the injured list midseason. When he returned, he posted an 11.30 ERA over six games.
Stroman could be a significant boost to the Red Sox’s rotation. If he was paired with a right-handed impact bat such as Jorge Soler, Boston could find themselves in pursuit of an American League Wild Card spot — though some things would have to break the right way.
The challenge, however, is that the Red Sox cannot lowball the two-time All-Star given his sizeable market. The club has not shown a willingness to go above and beyond the market for a player this offseason.
