The Boston Red Sox struggled with pitching depth down the stretch last season. They had multiple unproven pitchers starting some of the most important games of the season. Although this isn’t the exact reason their season ended, it’s a roster mistake that can’t happen again.
The Red Sox seemingly understood this, as they opened their offseason with a big trade for St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray. But the front office could look to add an additional starting pitcher to turn the rotation from a weakness into a strength.
Andrew Tredinnick of NorthJersey.com recently predicted the Red Sox would land Houston Astros ace Framber Valdez in free agency this winter. Valdez is projected to sign a massive $190 million deal, per Jim Bowden of The Athletic.
“Boston gets another dynamic left-hander atop its rotation,” Tredinnick wrote. “It works because Valdez works more north-south and Garrett Crochet goes west to east.”
The Red Sox certainly have the money to make a run at Valdez, though it might limit their ability to give Alex Bregman a big contract.
The Red Sox need to be able to re-sign or replace Bregman’s bat in the lineup before going after an ace worth nearly $200 million. If they can figure out a way to sign both, this would be the perfect pair of moves to continue their offseason. It would be a huge step in the right direction toward closing the gap in the American League.
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