Red Sox: If not Max Fried or Corbin Burnes, then who?
The Boston Red Sox are in search of starting pitching. The top two remaining starters on the market are left-hander Max Fried and right-hander Corbin Burnes.
Both veterans are going to draw heavy interest from multiple teams, so the Red Sox need contingency plans if they strike out on both. White Sox ace and southpaw Garrett Crochet is a natural pivot.
MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported the Red Sox are on the “periphery” of those talks as other teams have jumped in.
Here is a rundown, in no particular order, of other arms that could or already have drawn interest from the Red Sox:
Nathan Eovaldi
Nathan Eovaldi already knows Boston.
He was a key part of the 2018 World Series championship. The Red Sox tried to keep him in 2022, but the sides could not come to an agreement. Instead, he went to the Texas Rangers on a two-year deal and won it all yet again. Adding to his postseason resume, in which he is 9-3 with a 3.05 ERA/1.98 FIP.
The soon-to-be 35-year-old has gotten some interest from the Red Sox, according to WEEI's Rob Bradford last month. A reunion could make a lot of sense.
Sean Manaea
The Red Sox's current rotation has no left-handed pitching. Even their Triple-A depth; Richard Fitts and Quinn Priester are both righties. After Fried, Manaea is the best left-hander on the free agent market. Manaea has had an up-and-down career between injuries and performance. The difference last season was a mid-season change with his arm slot.
The 32-year-old southpaw mimicked the arm slot of NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale. His K rate went from 8.8% to 10.1%. Given the history with Sale, Manaea could be a profile that fits what the Red Sox are looking for.
Walker Buehler
A productive and healthy season for Buehler would’ve put him in the conversation as a front-of-the-rotation arm this offseason.
Unfortunately, the 30-year-old had a poor regular season, pitching to a 5.38 ERA over just 75.1 innings while battling a hip injury. Buehler also threw only 65 innings in 2022 before Tommy John surgery, costing him the rest of the season and all of 2023.
The right-hander helped the Dodgers win the World Series championship, closing the door on the Yankees in the ninth inning in the final game of the series.
Buehler started three games and pitched to a 3.60 ERA/2.70 FIP. While he presents some risk, it seems Craig Breslow is looking at Buehler as a Lucas Giolito-type signing. Buehler has drawn interest from the Red Sox and other AL East teams, according to David Vassegh of MLB Network.
Jack Flaherty
Unlike Giolito, Flaherty was able to stay healthy and put himself in line for a multi-year contract. Last offseason, Flaherty signed with the Detroit Tigers on a one-year, $14 million deal in hopes of building up his value. He went on to have a strong season, posting a 13-7 record with a 3.17 ERA while striking out 194 over 162 innings.
The 29-year-old had his most strikeouts and innings since 2019.
The fact that Flaherty will not turn 30 until next October will certainly intrigue teams. Not only was Fried, but Flaherty was also a teammate in high school with Giolito, so there is familiarity there.
Trade: Luis Castillo
The trade market is always wildly unpredictable. A player like Crochet is certainly expected to be moved, but another potential possibility that hasn’t garnered a ton of attention is Mariners' Luis Castillo.
Seattle is willing to move the veteran righty this offseason, according to members of the national media. The Red Sox have young talent with Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, and Kutter Crawford. Castillo would be that veteran leader who can still represent a front-of-the-rotation type arm and is a proven innings eater.
Boston has reportedly been exploring the idea of trading Triston Casas, according to the Boston Globe's Alex Speier. It's not known if Boston offered Casas to the Mariners or any team for that matter.
The 31-year-old has lost a tick off his fastball but still averages 95.6 mph and struck out 175 batters in 175 innings last season. Not counting the 2020 shortened season, Castillo has thrown at least 150 innings dating back to 2018.
Since 2017, when Castillo was a rookie, only five other pitchers have thrown more innings than him. Those five are Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Jośe Berrios, Kevin Gausman, and Gerrit Cole. While the upside is not as high as it is with Crochet, Castillo would represent a closer fit to a Max Fried or Corbin Burnes in terms of a reliable workload.
Just get some quality starting pitching already whether it's signing a free agent or through a trade! like Fried, but he seems to be hurt more than not.