The Boston Red Sox seem to be gearing up for an aggressive push towards winning after offloading their biggest financial commitment.
The baseball world was taken aback when the Red Sox decided to trade Rafael Devers, along with his hefty $313 million deal, well ahead of the last season’s trade deadline. However, following an impressive rally that secured them a playoff spot, the Red Sox have shifted from selling to actively acquiring talent.
This shift became evident with their acquisition of Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals. Gray is currently in the third year of a $75 million contract.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow highlighted Gray’s value, emphasizing his experience at the top of rotations. “When you consider what Sonny has accomplished in this league, it’s evident he’s excelled in crucial areas such as strikeout and walk rates and his ability to limit hard contact,” Breslow stated, as reported by Boston.com’s Hayden Bird. “We’re thrilled to add a pitcher who has consistently delivered over 200 strikeouts in recent seasons and handled a significant workload.”
While Gray is a valuable addition to the rotation, questions remain about whether he can effectively serve as the No. 2 starter behind Garrett Crochet, in hopes of forming a World Series-caliber rotation next season.
Gray has proven to be a reliable innings eater, though he recorded a modest 4.28 ERA with the Cardinals last season. Despite this new acquisition, Breslow hinted that the Red Sox might still be eyeing a bigger move to bolster their roster further.
Gray has been an innings eater in recent seasons, but he posted a middling 4.28 ERA for the Cardinals in this past campaign. Even after acquiring Gray, Breslow hinted that a bigger move could be coming.
“While Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow notably avoided any declarations about whether Gray was now the Sox’s No. 2 starter, he did point to Gray’s success on the things that tend to hold up year over year in pitchers’ performances,” Alex Speier wrote for the Boston Globe. “That said, part of Breslow’s hesitation to proclaim Gray as a No. 2 starter was because the Sox might acquire another starter this offseason who would slot in front of him.”
A new starter talented enough to slot between Gray and Crochet won’t be easy to find, though. While several such players might be had via trade, the free agency market only seems to sport a few proven big-league options such as Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez and Michael King.
Those starters could be headed toward contracts in the $200 million range, so if the Red Sox really do want to bring in an even better talent than Gray this winter, it would take a true blockbuster move to do so.
