On to 2024: Ranking each RP free agency fit for Boston Red Sox
Even though holding leads was a strength in 2023, the Red Sox could use some bullpen bolstering this winter.
Overall, the numbers for the 2023 Boston Red Sox bullpen were eerily similar to that of the frustrating one of 2022.
However, the narrative around this group was overwhelmingly more positive, and for good reason. Veteran right-handers Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin provided much-need stability on the back end, with the latter leading all qualifying MLB relievers with a 1.05 ERA.
That said, no team has “enough” pitching anymore. Injuries happen and depth should be seen more as a necessity than a luxury.
Continuing a series I began in mid-September, this will be a ranking of each free-agent relief pitcher based on how well they fit in with the Red Sox.
Note: Given the number of free agents, I will only be writing blurbs for the top 25 before ranking the rest. And, as a reminder, these are not power rankings.
If you missed my starting pitcher rankings you can give that a read here.
According to Spotrac, there are north of 70 impending free agents — so this one will be rather lengthy. Feel free to search for some of your favorite reliever free agents to see where I rank them compared to you.
Without further ado, let’s get into it.
1. RHP Joe Kelly — Los Angeles Dodgers
2023 stats: 4.12 ERA, 2.72 FIP, 58.0% ground ball rate in 39.1 innings pitched
Old friend alert!
Kelly is hardly a superstar reliever, but he’s emerged as one of the more explosive ones in baseball since he last pitched with the Red Sox in 2018.
Injuries kept Kelly from stabilizing his ERA the past two years with the Chicago White Sox, but he did post a 1.74 ERA with 16.6 K/9 in 10.1 innings after being re-acquired by the Dodgers at the trade deadline.
Kelly will be 36 next June, but still gets his fastball into the upper 90s and struck out a career-best 35.7% of hitters in 2023.
If he’s open to a two-year deal for moderate money, roughly $6 million AAV, he’s easily topping my list.
2. LHP Aaron Loup — Los Angeles Angels
2023 stats: 6.10 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 46.6% ground ball rate in 48.2 innings pitched
From a career standpoint, Loup has had a tremendously steady career. However, 2023 was a true hiccup for the now 35-year-old southpaw.
And yet, I still rank him second on my list of free agent fits because of his proficiency in keeping the ball on the ground and limiting hard contact.
Given his age and subpar season in run prevention, I do believe the market for Loup won’t price him out of Boston’s range — and the Red Sox could use another left-handed reliever.
3. LHP Matt Moore — Free Agent
2023 stats: 2.56 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 20.6 K-BB% in 52.2 innings pitched
What a bizarre 2023 for the former Tampa Bay Rays Ace, amirite?!
All he did was put up zeroes consistently, but the Angels waived him, then Cleveland did, and then the Marlins designated him for assignment.
Like, what?
I have no idea why he couldn’t find a home in September, but that kind of scares me a little despite him being considerably better than Loup.
He’s going to be a pretty hot commodity this winter, thus making him more expensive.
I believe the Red Sox could benefit from adding another lefty to the bullpen, thus eliminating the need for one of Chris Murphy or Brandon Walter to play a pivotal role on Day 1.
Based on recent seasons, it doesn’t get much better than Moore.
4. RHP Shintaro Fujinami — Baltimore Orioles
2023 stats: 7.18 ERA, 4.61 FIP, 98.5 average fastball velocity in 79 innings
I’m absolutely in love with Fujinami’s stuff.
Despite not putting up stellar numbers in 2023, the 29-year-old placed in the 88th percentile in extension and 78th percentile in whiff rate.
If the Red Sox do target a right-handed reliever, I want them to be a ceiling-raiser stuff-wise. While Fujinami isn’t the best righty on the market, his fastball is explosive and his splitter was effective at times despite underperforming expected metrics.
5. RHP Blake Treinen — Los Angeles Dodgers
2023 stats: DNP in MLB due to shoulder surgery/recovery
This one is more up the alley of the now-former regime run by Chaim Bloom — a veteran arm with injury risks but intriguing stuff.
However, just because the Red Sox are under a new regime doesn’t mean they can’t make similar moves, and I think Treinen could be a fascinating get at the right price.
When healthy, he’s still effective, as shown by his 1.80 ERA in five outings in 2022. While it was a small sample size, his velocity remained on par with that of the rest of his career.
Again, should they target a right-handed reliever, I want them to prioritize stuff.
6. RHP Robert Stephenson — Tampa Bay Rays
2023 stats: 3.10 ERA, 3.22 FIP, 38.3% strikeout rate in 52.1 innings pitched
The Rays really did it again.
In his first 229 outings, Stephenson posted a 4.91 ERA and 4.84 FIP with the Reds, Rockies and Pirates. In 42 outings with the Rays, he had a 2.35 ERA and 2.45 FIP in 38.1 innings.
He also became one of the best strikeout artists in the game, punching out 42.9% of batters faced. He also held opposing hitters to a .136 batting average while walking only 5.7% of batters.
Out of 132 plate appearances ending in his cutter or slider this year, Stephenson racked up 60 strikeouts and held hitters to a .131 average.
Just ridiculous.
7. RHP Phil Maton — Houston Astros
2023 stats: 3.00 ERA, 3.74 FIP, 17.9 K-BB% in 66 innings pitched
At the risk of sounding like a “Savant Circles Analyst,” it’s hard to look at Maton’s Savant page and not be wowed by his steadiness.
I mean, come on.
Is he the greatest arm in the world? No. Does he have tremendous stuff? Also no. That said, he’s as steady as they come and has been ever since he got to Houston.
8. LHP Brent Suter — Colorado Rockies
2023 stats: 3.38 ERA, 3.44 FIP, 46.5% ground ball rate in 69.1 innings pitched
Suter is a treat because he doesn’t have overpowering stuff at all but, since 2020, has been one of the most effective left-handed relievers in baseball.
During that span, he’s rocking a 2.99 ERA in 181 relief appearances and hasn’t ranked below the 98th percentile in extension — which helps him get away with throwing his fastball in the mid-80s.
I wrote about wanting Suter at the trade deadline this past summer and stand by that desire by ranking him seventh among the 74 free-agent relievers on Spotrac.
9. RHP Jordan Hicks — Toronto Blue Jays
2023 stats: 3.29 ERA, 3.22 FIP, 58.3% ground ball rate in 65.2 innings pitched
Hicks is like Fujinami with a track record of success at the MLB level.
While you’d think I’d rank Hicks above Fujinami because of this, he’s going to be more expensive for that exact reason.
I’d rather target Fujinami and take the chance on him because he’d likely come cheaper, but would certainly not balk at the idea of signing the former Cardinals right-hander.
In 2023, Hicks ranked in the 87th percentile in fastball run value (+11), the 100th percentile in fastball velocity (100.1 mph) and in the 96th percentile in ground ball rate.
He really put it all together between St. Louis and Toronto and should be rewarded accordingly as a free agent this winter.
10. RHP Nick Martinez — San Diego Padres
2023 stats: 3.43 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 53.8% ground ball rate in 110.1 innings pitched
I highly doubt the Padres end up picking up his $16 million club option this winter, thus making the talented Martinez a free agent for the second consecutive winter.
What I like the most about this right-hander is his ability to eat multiple innings — 18 of his 54 relief appearances saw him get at least six outs (27 out of 63 appearances in total).
Similar to Hicks and Suter, Martinez is also proficient at limiting hard contact and keeping the ball on the ground. If he hits the market this winter, Boston would be wise to throw its hat into the ring for his services even though his market will be pretty hot.
11. LHP Josh Hader — San Diego Padres
2023 stats: 1.28 ERA, 2.69 FIP, 36.8% strikeout rate in 56.1 innings pitched
There’s nothing really to say about Hader that isn’t common knowledge.
The only reason he’s 11th and not first, despite how talented he is, is the fact he’s a closer expected to make eight figures. While the Red Sox could use a lefty, they already have a closer in Jansen.
12. RHP Carl Edwards Jr. — Washington Nationals
2023 stats: 3.69 ERA, 3.86 FIP, 46.0% ground ball rate in 31.2 innings pitched
From a run prevention standpoint, it was a step back for Edwards after flourishing with the Nationals in 2022.
However, he posted more fWAR, a better FIP and quartered his home runs per fly ball rate.
That said, he missed a large chunk of the season due to a shoulder injury, similar to Treinen before him.
13. RHP Dylan Floro — Free Agent
2023 stats: 4.76 ERA, 2.96 FIP, 54.4% ground ball rate in 56.2 innings pitched
If you can keep the ball on the ground, chances are I’d be interested in your services.
Among 147 right-handed relievers with a minimum of 150 innings pitched since 2018, Floro is 46th with a 3.14 ERA, 13th in FIP (3.05) and 21st in ground ball rate (51.5%).
Similar to Maton, Floro is as steady as they come. Despite posting a 4.76 ERA in 2023, and getting released by the Twins in October, he was still pretty solid down the stretch (3.12 ERA in his final 10 outings).
14. RHP Jesse Chavez — Atlanta Braves
2023 stats: 1.56 ERA, 3.05 FIP, 27.1% strikeout rate in 34.2 innings pitched
Despite being 40 years old, Chavez was one of the better relievers in the game in 2023.
He’s been tremendous, especially for the Braves since 2021 — especially in 2022 when he was traded back there and made 46 appearances to the tune of a 2.72 ERA.
It’s yet to be reported what Chavez intends to do regarding playing next season, but if he’s returning to the game, the Red Sox could benefit from his services.
15. RHP Yimi García — Toronto Blue Jays
2023 stats: 4.09 ERA, 3.39 FIP, 22.7 K-BB% in 66 innings pitched
Since joining the Marlins in 2020, García has emerged as one of the better middle-leverage arms in baseball.
Among 157 relievers to pitch 50 innings this year, 142 of them having a Stuff+ rating on their fastball, García ranked tied for the 26th-best fastball (122) and tied for the 14th-best curveball.
The 2023 season was the 33-year-old’s best in terms of fWAR, K/9 (excluding 15 innings in 2020) and K-BB%. He got burned on balls in play at the worst mark of his career but he was considered one of the 35-unluckiest pitchers based on expected average versus actual.
16. LHP Aroldis Chapman — Texas Rangers
2023 stats: 3.09 ERA, 2.52 FIP, 41.4% strikeout rate in 58.1 innings pitched
What makes Chapman so appealing as a player is he’s become a sparsely-used closer and more matchup-based in the late innings.
Sure, he’s still relied upon to slam the door when need be — six saves in 2023 — but is mostly used as a setup reliever.
Combine that with the Red Sox' need for another reliable southpaw and the flamethrower makes a lot of sense, even at the elevated price tag he’ll carry this offseason compared to last.
The PR that would come from signing Chapman might be enough to dissuade the recently hired Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow from signing him, but the player makes a lot of sense.
17. LHP Andrew Chafin — Milwaukee Brewers
2023 stats: 4.73 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 28.1% strikeout rate in 51.1 innings pitched
2023 was a tale of two seasons for Chafin, who was rock solid in Arizona before a midseason trade to the Brewers torpedoed his production.
In Arizona, Chafin had a 3.11 FIP, 12.8 K/9 and 0.7 fWAR — those numbers went to 5.84, 7.4 and -0.2, respectively, in Milwaukee.
Chafin, 33, is younger than Chapman by two years, but I’d argue is in a similar position to 2022 Chapman in regards to uncertainty about his role and ability moving forward. He could very well blossom in 2024, but I’d opt for Chapman if given a choice.
18. RHP Keynan Middleton — New York Yankees
2023 stats: 3.38 ERA, 4.20 FIP, 30.2% strikeout rate in 50.2 innings pitched
This is where the list starts to split hairs a little. While Middleton isn’t the best right-handed reliever yet to be named, he makes more sense for the Red Sox because he’s more suited to lower-leverage outings and will cost less than the pitcher I’ll rank at No. 19.
I like Middleton a great deal though. He saw his strikeout numbers skyrocket this year between the White Sox and Yankees while also more than doubling his ground ball rate between this year and last.
19. RHP Joe Jiménez — Atlanta Braves
2023 stats: 3.04 ERA, 3.59 FIP, 30.7% strikeout rate in 56.1 innings pitched
So, yeah.
This is not to discredit Jiménez at all — he’s a very good reliever — but I don’t want nor expect the Red Sox to invest heavily in right-handed relievers this winter.
If they made a splash, I’d sooner expect it to be for Hader or Chapman than for somebody like the 28-year-old Jiménez, coming off a very strong campaign for the Braves.
20. RHP Chris Stratton — Texas Rangers
2023 stats: 3.92 ERA, 3.53 FIP, 24.0% strikeout rate in 82.2 innings pitched
Stratton ranks in the top 20 on my fits list because he has a knack for providing more than three outs out of the pen.
While, ideally, the Red Sox get more length out of their starters in 2024 and beyond, getting someone, like Stratton, to bridge from the fifth through the sixth could win the team some games, as 36 of his 64 outings yielded more than four outs.
He’s not the sexiest relief pitcher option out there this winter, but he’s steady and the Red Sox could certainly use more steadiness out of the pen moving forward.
21. RHP Reynaldo López — Cleveland Guardians
2023 stats: 3.27 ERA, 3.91 FIP, 29.9% strikeout rate in 66 innings pitched
I like López, but his best season (2022) saw almost historic flyball luck (in terms of avoiding home runs).
Since 2002, when home runs per fly ball rate began getting counted, there have been 2,871 relief pitchers to throw 50 innings in a season. López’ 1.5% HR/FB rate in 2022 ranks tied for the 18th-lowest park in that frame.
Now, that doesn’t mean he’s not good unless he’s historically preventing home runs, but he followed up his 2022 campaign by giving up more homers and walking more hitters by a lot.
22. RHP David Robertson — Miami Marlins
2023 stats: 3.03 ERA, 3.55 FIP, 19.7% K-BB rate in 65.1 innings pitched
This is a marriage that’s felt inevitable for half a decade now.
However, so did Corey Kluber.
Not to say Robertson would suffer the same fate in Boston, because he likely wouldn’t given the state of his stuff, but it’s enough of a fear to knock him out of my top 20 fits this offseason.
Not to mention that should they sign Robertson, he’d make for the third high-leverage righty in the pen over the age of 36 by early April next year.
23. RHP Jose Leclerc — Texas Rangers
2023 stats: 2.68 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 28.8% strikeout rate in 57 innings pitched
I like Leclerc a lot; he’s probably my favorite pitcher outside my top 20.
Where he can get shoddy is in his command and, with his strikeout numbers getting lower each year since 2018, that could prove costly moving forward.
He’s got electric stuff when he’s on, and I’d be more than open to the idea of Boston signing him … I just think there are better options.
24. LHP Sean Manaea — San Francisco Giants
2023 stats: 4.44 ERA, 3.90 FIP, 25.7% strikeout rate in 117.2 innings pitched
Manaea scuffled early on in his Giants career, similar to what the Red Sox saw with Nick Pivetta.
On May 17, Manaea made his first relief appearance of what would be a near-permanent demotion. From that point on, he made just four more starts (29 appearances) to the tune of a 3.44 ERA, 3.15 FIP and 3.55 SIERA.
Similar to what I said about Stratton, obviously the Red Sox want more length from their starters, but having someone like Manaea — who can pitch in relief or spot start — could be huge in providing bulk innings should a starter fail to get past a couple trips through the order.
25. LHP Wandy Peralta — New York Yankees
2023 stats: 2.83 ERA, 5.05 FIP, 57.4% ground ball rate in 54 innings pitched
Peralta became one of the steadiest lefty relievers in baseball since getting to the Yankees. While his peripherals in 2023 weren’t good at all, he maintained his low ERA, a high ground ball rate and had a career-best left-on-base rate.
For a low-to-mid leverage lefty, Peralta makes a ton of sense for the Red Sox — especially if they decline the club option of Joely Rodríguez, who pitched only 11 innings for the team this year.
26. RHP Alex Reyes — Los Angeles Dodgers
Hasn’t pitched in MLB since 2021 (injuries)
Reyes is one of the more exciting arms to fall out of the top 25.
Once a prized prospect as a starter with the Cardinals, the right-hander’s injuries and rocky command banished him to the bullpen where, for half a season, he flourished.
In 2021, Reyes was an All-Star and posted an ERA of 1.52 with 20 saves in the first half. In the second half, the walks that often plagued him in the first half coupled with a steep decline in ground ball rate led to an ERA over five with just nine saves.
Since then, he’s battled injuries. However, the stuff is still enticing enough given his relatively young age of 29 to warrant a non-roster invite to big league camp next spring.
27. RHP Collin McHugh — Atlanta Braves
2023 stats: 4.30 ERA, 4.09 FIP, 43.9% ground ball rate in 58.2 innings pitched
Hard to imagine McHugh making his way back to Boston after his tenure there in 2020 ended in him never appearing in a game for the club.
Never say never though.
The 36-year-old regressed heavily in 2023, seeing even his underlying metrics hit a snag. He’s still a talented pitcher with the pedigree of a workhorse out of the pen, but coming off his worst season I’d probably look somewhere else.
28. RHP Jakob Junis — San Francisco Giants
2023 stats: 3.87 ERA, 3.74 FIP, 26.2% strikeout rate in 86 innings pitched
Similar to Stratton and Manaea, Junis makes a lot of sense because he’s capable of offering multiple innings.
In San Francisco this past season, he had a career-best ERA and strikeout numbers.
With the Red Sox needing a new pitching coach and the recent rumors that current Giants coach Andrew Bailey is poachable, there’s a chance that working relationship could prove vital should the Red Sox opt to sign Junis this winter.
The right-hander throws his slider over 60% of the time and held hitters to just a .216 average and 77 strikeouts in 239 plate appearances.
29. LHP Jarlín García — Pittsburgh Pirates
Did not pitch at any level in 2023 (injury)
The southpaw was tremendous with the Giants in 2021, from run prevention to underlying data to pitching run value.
In 2022, he was about as average as one can get — and in 2023, he didn’t throw a single pitch and, for portions of the season, couldn’t even grip the baseball.
He’s a good project, similar to Reyes, in the sense that he’d likely garner a non-roster invite to camp next spring with a real chance to crack the team.
30. RHP Luis García — San Diego Padres
2023 stats: 4.07 ERA, 4.30 FIP, 10.9% K-BB% in 59.2 innings pitched
Garcia turned into one of the best relievers in the game for a Padres team that fell just short of a World Series berth in 2022.
The 2023 season wasn’t as kind to him, as his ERA shot up 0.68 runs and his FIP by 1.7 runs.
Simply put, his strikeout numbers tanked this year.
He did decrease his splitter usage, which seems rather odd considering he held hitters to a .182 average against it with 16 strikeouts in 2022. Moreover, he maintained a primary usage of his sinker, which got hammered over the past two seasons.
31. LHP Will Smith — Texas Rangers
2023 stats: 4.40 ERA, 3.36 FIP, 16.8% K-BB% in 57.1 innings pitched
On pedigree and underlying data alone, Smith makes a lot of sense for the Red Sox. He’s experienced, and typically pretty good at keeping the ball in the ballpark and avoiding free passes.
What my red flag is on him is his fourth percentile finish in ground ball rate (30.5%) this year and has only finished above the 30th percentile twice in the StatCast era (since 2015).
32. RHP Vince Velasquez — Pittsburgh Pirates
2023 stats: 3.86 ERA, 3.87 FIP, 6.8 inches of extension in 37.1 innings pitched
For the first time, Velasquez made a breaking ball his most-used pitch in a season and, in a small sample size of eight starts, it worked.
His slider, which was used at a 44.6% clip this season, held hitters to a .192 average with a 31.9% whiff rate.
Again, a small sample size of starts before he ultimately hurt his elbow and required UCL surgery in June, but it looked as though he figured something out with the Pirates that he couldn’t in Philadelphia or Chicago.
He’s going to miss some time in all likelihood in 2024. However, I’d not be opposed to a short-money signing to get him into the building this year.
33. LHP Alex Claudio — Milwaukee Brewers
Faced three MLB hitters in 2023
Claudio reminds me a lot of what the Red Sox currently have at their disposal with left-hander Joe Jacques.
The 31-year-old offers a bit of a more proven option to the lefty low-leverage role, but the archetype is the same. Both guys are predominantly ground ball pitchers but have funky deliveries that create deception despite lacking velocity.
All told I’d just stick with Jacques if I were to choose between the two.
34. RHP Chris Devenski — Tampa Bay Rays
2023 stats: 4.46 ERA, 3.96 FIP, 17.9% K-BB% in 42.1 innings pitched
“All roads lead to Mr. Wonderful,” - Kevin O’Leary” - Tampa Bay Rays.
Devenski ended up in Tampa for the final month of the season and posted, you guessed it, a 2.08 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched.
He’s far from stellar at this stage of his career like he was back in 2016 and 2017 with the Astros. That said, he could settle into a solid low or medium-leverage reliever.
35. LHP Brad Hand — Atlanta Braves
2023 stats: 5.53 ERA, 4.02 FIP, 15.7% K-BB% in 53.2 innings pitched
Hand is somebody I’ve never been overly high on as a prospective Red Sox reliever target, even at his peak with the Padres and Guardians.
Now that he’s actually regressed, despite decent underlying data between Atlanta and Colorado in 2023, he makes even less sense despite the Sox needing an additional left-handed reliever.
36. RHP José Cisnero — Detroit Tigers
2023 stats: 5.31 ERA, 4.60 FIP, 26.2% strikeout rate in 59.1 innings pitched
Cisnero is somebody I’ve pegged to be a Red Sox trade target in the past. However, now that he’s 34 years old and coming off a season in which he gave up hard contact at a career-worst rate, despite a career-best strikeout rate, he doesn’t make sense anymore.
37. RHP Craig Kimbrel — Philadelphia Phillies
2023 stats: 3.26 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 33.8% strikeout rate in 69 innings pitched
If the Red Sox decided to trade Jansen this winter, Kimbrel would soar up the ranking for me. That said, he remains a closer who struggles in non-save situations, therefore he makes little sense.
Talent alone keeps him in the top 40, however.
38. RHP Luke Weaver — New York Yankees
2023 stats: 6.40 ERA, 5.61 FIP, 12.3% K-BB% in 123.2 innings pitched
Weaver could serve as a tweener-type of reliever in the sense he can serve as a spot starter or give multiple innings in bulk out of the pen.
The drawbacks with him stem from not generating a ton of soft contact as a starter. Moreover, he’s never stuck anywhere — six teams in eight MLB seasons.
I see a lot of Mike Leake when I look at Weaver, he just hasn’t flashed that potential since 2018 or 2019.
39. RHP John Brebbia — San Francisco Giants
2023 stats: 3.99 ERA, 3.93 FIP, 6.7 inches of extension in 38.1 innings pitched
Entering his final outing of the season, Brebbia had a 3.55 ERA and 3.91 FIP across 39 appearances.
That said, even with the blowup outing against the Dodgers on Oct. 1, Brebbia can feel proud of his final two seasons with the Giants.
While he’s not the best reliever on the planet, he’s been reliable both with the Cardinals and most recently the Giants. In 2022, he led the league in appearances with 76.
Across 299.2 innings pitched in his career, Brebbia has a 3.42 ERA and 3.6 strikeouts per walk — so he’s got something of a track record of success.
40. RHP Chad Green — Toronto Blue Jays
2023 stats: 5.25 ERA, 2.67 FIP, 30.8% strikeout rate in 12 innings pitched
Rounding out the top 40 is a man who’s never left the American League East in Chad Green.
I have always been a big fan of Green and even wanted the Red Sox to sign him fully knowing he’d miss most of the 2023 season.
He had a blowup outing against the Rangers on Sept. 13 but had a 3.27 ERA in his 11 other outings.
Even though I rank him 40th, he’d be someone Red Sox fans would love should Breslow snag him this winter. His fastball is one of the best pitches in the league based on run value and he’s historically one of the best strikeout artists out of the pen in baseball.
41. RHP Matt Barnes — Miami Marlins
42. RHP Emilio Pagan — Minnesota Twins
43. RHP Liam Hendriks — Chicago White Sox
44. LHP Daniel Norris — Cleveland Guardians
45. RHP Daniel Hudson — Los Angeles Dodgers
46. LHP Jose Alvarez — Detroit Tigers
47. RHP Buck Farmer — Cincinnati Reds
48. RHP Ryne Stanek — Houston Astros
49. RHP Hector Neris — Houston Astros
50. RHP Ian Kennedy — Texas Rangers
51. RHP Brad Boxberger — Chicago Cubs
52. LHP Caleb Smith — Pittsburgh Pirates
53. RHP Mark Melancon — Free Agent
54. RHP Shelby Miller — Los Angeles Dodgers
55. RHP Kirby Yates — Atlanta Braves
56. LHP Robbie Erlin — Los Angeles Dodgers
57. RHP Tyler Chatwood — Free Agent
58. RHP Hunter Strickland — Free Agent
59. LHP Drew Pomeranz — San Diego Padres
60. RHP Bryan Shaw — Chicago White Sox
61. RHP Drew Steckenrider — Oakland Athletics
62. RHP Dinelson Lamet — Free Agent
63. RHP Drew VerHagen — St. Louis Cardinals
64. RHP Tommy Hunter — Free Agent
65. RHP Zach McAllister — New York Yankees
66. RHP Michael Fulmer — Chicago Cubs
67. LHP Justin Wilson — Milwaukee Brewers
68. RHP Jimmy Nelson — Free Agent
69. LHP Roenis Elías — Free Agent
70. RHP Matt Andriese — Los Angeles Dodgers
71. RHP Erasmo Ramirez — Free Agent
72. RHP Wily Peralta — Washington Nationals
73. RHP Dominic Leone — Seattle Mariners
74. RHP Craig Stammen — Free Agent
75. RHP Archie Bradley — Miami Marlins
76. RHP Trevor Rosenthal — Free Agent
77. RHP Alex Colome — Free Agent
Follow Jordan on Twitter @JordanLeandre55
For additional Red Sox and Major League Baseball content, follow Beyond the Monster: Boston Red Sox on X BeyondtheMnstr
Lots of great RP options this year...my top 3 are:
Stephenson
Moore
Yimi Garcia
In my humble opinion the Red Sox need to get a real short stop or bring up Marcelo Mayer and play him. Get rid of all 5 2nd baseman and make Story play 2nd base unless you can trade him and bring up York or Hamilton. As for shortstop start the season with the kid Ceddanne Rafaela and see how well he plays and how well Marcelo Mayer is playing. If needed trade for an one year or two upgrade until Mayer is 100% ready. Story isn't the answer at SS. Look for an upgrade at catcher as well more power, better calling of games and a better base runner throw out rate. Wong isn't a starting catcher as of right now.
Here is my opening day starting infield: 1B Casas, 2B Story SS Ceddanne Rafaela 3B Devers C Wong.
Here is my opening day starting outfield:
LF: Yoshida(L)
CF: Duran(L)/Duvall(R)
RF: Verdugo(L)/Refsnyder
DH: Turner
The Red Sox need a big right handed bat that hits for homeruns, average and drives in runs. Plays good defense as a corner outfielder and is in early to mid 20s to grow up with Devers and Casas.
Infield Bench: McGuire, Reyes and Valdez
Waivers: Urias, Mondesi, Dalbec to be sent to Worcester Red Sox.
Catcher to sign as a Starter: 3 years 4th club option Mitch Garver.
SS to sign for 2/3 years Amed Rosario
Corner outfielder Teoscar Hernández (26 hrs) bats right and Jorge Soler (36hrs)
Right-hand power hitter is a DH/Corner Outfielder. Wow what a lineup with Devers and Casas.
I'm not going there when it comes to the pitchers except I would make Chris Sale the closer and the closer now the set up man.
Cora has to go!
I'm done!