It has become clear that the Red Sox plan on bringing in a veteran arm to round out the rotation that currently has locks Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield in it.
Despite the No-Hit Kid, Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson and Michael Bowden’s availability, the Sox have been linked to several big names. At least two are off the board, with CC Sabathia taking the money in New York and AJ Burnett turning down the Sox to do just the same.
Derek Lowe becomes the remaining starting pitcher prize on the free agent market, and I don’t see the Sox giving him five years that he’ll likely get from the New York Mets or Philadelphia Phillies. Paul Byrd rejected the Sox’s offer of arbitration and would prefer to pitch closer to his Atlanta home, so he is likely out of the equation. Who deos that leave?
The Sox reportedly offered Japanese starter Kenshin Kawakami a three year pact (a story later rebuffed by the Boston Globe) but the years and money make sense for what Kawakami should ultimately get. The problem is that Kawakami is an unknown, and while the Sox have the depth to invest in the unknown, the unknown should be of the health variety, not performance variety. The Atlanta Braves are rumored to be hot on his tail.
The Red Sox have been linked to Ben Sheets in the past and could make a play to bring Sheets to Beantown. Sheets unquestionably has the stuff as he started the All-Star Game this past year, but has way too many injury questions surrounding him, ala AJ Burnett, to think him a safe investment. His recent injury (muscle tear) will reportedly leave him with no restrictions in spring training and is more of a fluke injury than a recurring one.
Bringing in Sheets on a two-year deal with a vesting option for a third or biting the bullet and going to three years wouldn’t be terrible. He and AJ Burnett are very similar pitchers and Sheets is actually younger by two years. That said, the Texas Rangers are apparently in the lead for Sheets’ services and boast pitching coach Mike Maddux, who came from Sheets’ former organization, the Milwaukee Brewers, this offseason. I can’t see the Rangers not grabbing Sheets.
Brad Penny just a year ago finished third in the Cy Young voting by going 16-4 with a 3.03 ERA. He had injury woes this year and pitched only 94.2 innings with a 6.27 ERA. He missed the entire season with right shoulder soreness and had his option declined by the Dodgers (it was around $9 million). Penny can be thought of as a poor man’s Sheets. The Red Sox have been known to be interested.
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| John Smoltz – ztil301 |
John Smoltz is another intriguing name. Although many expected he wouldn’t leave Atlanta, he is actually expected to leave at this point. He may do just that, heading to Boston according to his agent. Smoltz had surgery on his right shoulder last year and may represent the safest investment of all on a one-year pact and reportedly is very intrigued in working with John Farrell.
Given his reputation as a big-game horse (like Curt Schilling… and I suppose CC Sabathia except for the “big-game” part) he could be an invaluable resource. Having his voice in the clubhouse to influence players like Josh Beckett is a plus as well. Plus, we know he can be a dominating reliever too. Given that he had a 2.54 ERA at age 41 for the Braves before going down, it would seem he is very much so still an effective pitcher.
Other names to keep an eye on:
- Daniel Cabrera — He needs to rebuild his value, is still young and might benefit from John Farrell’s tutelage.
- Freddy Garcia — He’s been linked to the Sox before.
- Braden Looper — The free agent market has been very cold to him. Could he be a bargain?
- Pedro Martinez — Just sayin’.
- Mark Mulder — Saw somewhere he’s supposed to be 100 percent over his injury issues.
- Carl Pavano — Hey, the Sox wanted him badly four years ago, too.
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