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Here are 5 big free agents the Red Sox should be calling about
The Red Sox face a crucial free agency period with the MLB lockout in the rearview mirror.
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Baseball is officially back after a lengthy lockout, and that means MLB free agency is about to hit overdrive with mere weeks to prepare for Opening Day.
The Red Sox head into the 2022 season with a great deal of optimism after their ALCS trip last fall, but the team also faces a lot of offseason questions that don’t have a lot of time to get answered.
Can they get more help for their starting rotation?
Who’s going to play second base and the outfield?
Is “Kyle from Waltham” coming back?!
Expect the Red Sox to be plenty busy as they try to fill out their roster for another postseason run in 2022 and look toward the future with a few mainstays potentially leaving after this year.
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Here are a few players the Sox should be watching closely in free agency.
Kyle Schwarber
Now that MLB is moving toward a universal DH, the Red Sox will have a lot more competition for Schwarber’s services after his strong 2021.
But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t give it a shot.
Schwarber’s patient approach helped revolutionize the team’s lineup as it embarked on its surprise postseason run. Albeit in a small sample size, he posted arguably the best offensive numbers of his career in Boston, slashing 291./.435/.957 in 41 games with the Sox. (All would have been career-bests over a full season.)
Moreover, the Red Sox could really use another lefty power bat to go along with Rafael Devers in an otherwise righty-heavy lineup.
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Such a move might be contingent on getting J.D. Martinez, who’s on the last season of his deal with the Red Sox, out of town sooner rather than later. But in the short term, Boston could hide Schwarber in left field and perhaps move Kiké Hernández back to second base if the conditions were right. Plus, there’s always first base, which Schwarber could have more time to learn if the Sox can get him the spring training reps. It’s Schwarber’s bat they care about, not his glove.
Carlos Rodón
Not unlike James Paxton, Rodón’s issue has always been staying healthy. 2021 was the first year he’d managed to do it for long, and he still missed significant time, starting just 24 games and pitching just 132 2/3 innings.
But when he was on the mound, it was electric.
Rodón’s average velocity (95.4 mph) was higher than it’s ever been in a season, and his ability to control it made his wipeout slider more lethal than it’s been since 2016.
The result: a career-best 2.37 ERA, 0.957 WHIP, a majestic 185 strikeouts compared to just 36 walks, a 13-5 season and his first All-Star appearance.
Add Rodón to the middle or back end of a rotation that features former White Sox teammate Chris Sale, Nathan Eovaldi and up-and-comers like Nick Pivetta and Tanner Houck could give the Red Sox a highly-intriguing starting unit.
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They just have to keep him on the mound.
Trevor Story
Carlos Correa is the shortstop option everyone wants to potentially take over for Xander Bogaerts, but the Red Sox would have to really shell out big bucks to get him to Boston. He’s looking for an even bigger deal than the 10-year, $325 million contract Corey Seager just signed with the Texas Rangers, even turning down a 10-year, $275 million offer with the Detroit Tigers before Seager got his money.
Assuming Bloom isn’t trying to break the bank like that, Story would be a much more reasonably priced backup plan at short.
Story is coming off an injury-plagued 2021 season and is expected to cost more in the range of six years, $126 million. That would leave the Sox more flexibility in terms of offering Devers an extension after this season if they want to as well as perhaps keeping the way clear for shortstop prospect Marcelo Mayer down the line.
You might also be able to play around with moving either him or Bogaerts to second base in 2022. Assuming the defensive problems aren’t bad, that’s a heck of an offensive middle infield.
In the meantime, the Red Sox would be getting a player who averages 34 home runs and 98 RBI, and slashes .272/.340/.863 over 162 games. Even though he’ll be leaving the notoriously hitter-friendly Coors Field in Denver, the short porch in Fenway’s left field would probably serve him plenty well.
Seiya Suzuki
The hot pursuit for the Hiroshima Carp star outfielder is about to ramp up again.
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When last we heard of him, the Red Sox were supposedly the favorites to sign Suzuki, a versatile outfielder with prodigious power. But the Mariners, Giants, Padres and basically the entire AL East are after him as well.
Getting him in Boston could be tremendous. He could easily slot into right field, which would dramatically improve the defensive capabilities of the outfield without even mentioning what he can do with his bat. Once he adjusted to Major League pitching, he could have at least 20 home runs a year in him at Fenway Park.
Plus, at 27 years old, he should just be entering his prime as a player and could hold down a spot for several years.
Kenley Jansen
Things got a little hairy in 2021 when Matt Barnes fell off the statistical cliff in the second half. The closer’s ERA ballooned from 2.61 before the All-Star break (earning him an All-Star nod) to 6.48 afterward, leading Alex Cora to move away from him in the ninth inning.
Jansen went through his own struggles in 2019 and 2020 after being a late-inning monster in the years prior to that. But 2021 saw him start to turn things around as he posted his lowest ERA (2.22) and WHIP (1.043) in three years. His struggles were mainly with walks as he posted elite whiff rates and strikeout percentages to go with incredibly low exit velocities and barrel rates when he did give up contact.
Assuming the 24-year-old can get the ball over the plate, he’d be an excellent set-up man or closer for the Red Sox.
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