The Boston Red Sox added Sonny Gray via a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday to bolster their rotation.
This move also helped the Cardinals financially as the organization is looking to cut back on payroll. Boston knew going into the offseason that it needed to add to the starting rotation in order to make a push for the American League East title next season. The depth behind ace Garrett Crochet was (and still is) questionable at best.
Even with adding Gray to the rotation, the Red Sox should still be involved in trying to pry starter Joe Ryan away from the Minnesota Twins.
There is a major difference between what Ryan brings to the table in a starting rotation and what Gray adds with his value. At 36 years old, Gray is likely to only have a few good years left. Ryan, on the other hand, is 29 years old and has at least six years of strong baseball left to play.
Ryan also would provide the Red Sox with a strong No. 2 pitcher behind Crochet that would give Alex Cora a strong 1-2 punch at the top of his pitching staff.
“My expectation from the Red Sox was that they were going to go to a guy they believe would slot in with some certainty as a No. 2 starter in a postseason series behind Garrett Crochet,” MLB insider Ken Rosenthal said on “Foul Territory.” “I’m not sure if Sonny Gray at 36 years old is that anymore. … I’m not sure the Red Sox did well enough, but maybe they see this differently.”
The Red Sox rotation still has a major drop off that hasn’t been filled and wouldn’t be filled if Gray is the only addition to the staff. Boston doesn’t have to break the bank and grab Tarik Skubal from Detroit and sign him to a $400 million deal to address the void, even though Craig Breslow might get a statue if he did that.
However, there has to be another addition beyond Gray. Pitching in the AL East is too good for the Red Sox to be the third-best team in that department when comparing them to the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees.
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