It was no secret that the Boston Red Sox had holes to fill over the offseason but were boosted by a surplus of funds thanks to their fire sale executed prior to the July 31 trade deadline. The biggest holes existed within the pitching staff, which lost ace Jon Lester, John Lackey, Jake Peavy and Felix Doubront from the rotation and top lefty Andrew Miller from the bullpen. The Red Sox also did not retain closer Koji Uehara, who became a free agent.
Left with Clay Buchholz, who struggled mightily in 2014, and Joe Kelly as the most veteran members of the rotation, desperately needed an ace. While the organization’s preference of not signing players in their 30s to long-term contracts, the re-signing of Lester – a workhorse lefty with proven success in a pressure-packed market – was paramount.
Despite payroll flexibility made possible by the trades, the Red Sox needed to free up even more money to afford Lester and capably address their other needs . That flexibility came via trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates, as Boston unloaded Yoennis Cespedes for fellow outfielder Gregory Polanco, lefty reliever Justin Wilson and pitching prospect Nick Kingham.
Used fairly regularly following his promotion from Triple A early last season, Polanco will be expected to play every day in Boston. He will do so at a fraction of the cost of Cespedes, who commanded a price tag of $10.5 million in the final year of his contract.
While Polanco was the centerpiece of the deal with Pittsburgh, the hard-throwing Wilson was much more than just a throw-in. He will be counted upon to help fill the role vacated by Miller in Boston’s bullpen. Like Polanco, Wilson will be inexpensive as a player not eligible for arbitration until 2016.
As it turned out, Boston’s free-agent bid of $25.5 million on Lester was the highest for any player on the free-agent market. Luckily, the Red Sox laid the groundwork for an otherwise inexpensive rotation via trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. In their first deal of the offseason, the Red Sox acquired righthander Jake Odorizzi along withBen Zobrist for Mookie Betts, Matt Barnes and Ryan Lavarnway.
Odorizzi, who will be 25 in March, made great strides in the second half of 2014 and finished with better than a strikeout per inning pitched and a 1.28 WHIP in 168 frames overall. Still at a pre-arbitration salary, Odorizzi will be given every opportunity to establish himself near the top of Boston’s young rotation at a discount. Odorizzi will be one of three pitchers earmarked for Boston’s rotation 26 years old or younger, joining Joe Kelly and Rubby De La Rosa.
Not to be understated in the deal with the Rays, Zobrist will provide stability to the left side of the infield. Scheduled to hit free agency at the end of the season, Zobrist will primarily play shortstop while the Red Sox wait for Deven Marrero’s bat to develop at Triple A. Marrero is far superior defensively to Xander Bogaerts, who the Red Sox believe will be a better fit at the hot corner.
Bogaerts sliding over to third base full time coupled with and the continued development of Sean Coyle at Double A made both enigmatic Will Middlebrooks and Garin Cecchini available in the trade market. As it turned out, both of those assets were packaged in a deal with the Florida Marlins that made closer Steve Cishek a member of the Red Sox. In his second year of arbitration, Cishek presented a much cheaper alternative to extending a qualifying offer of over $15 million to 39-year-old Uehara. At just over $6 million, Cishek also was considered more affordable than top free-agent closers Francisco Rodriguez and David Robertson.
With the main objective of fortifying both the rotation and the bullpen complete, the Red Sox could afford to take some chances on free agents coming off disappointing 2014 campaigns. The top gamble was Justin Masterson, who enjoyed some success in Boston when manager John Farrell was his pitching coach.
While $9 million appears high for a pitcher coming off a season with an ERA north of 7.00, the Red Sox believe they can make the signing of Masterson look like a steal with the correction of some mechanical flaws. Masterson has struggled with finding a consistent release point during rough patches in his career, and repeating his delivery will be a primary focus this offseason and in spring training.
Another free-agent dice roll is Alex Avila, especially at $5.5 million. The Red Sox are committed to giving Christian Vasquez every opportunity to win the starting catching job out of spring training, but the veteran presence of Avila will provide valuable insurance. Avila had close to a .900 OPS with 82 RBI in 2011 but since has struggled making consistent contact and avoiding concussions. Entering his age 28 season, Avila may get the chance to rediscover his power stroke in Boston if Vasquez proves inept offensively.
Even if Avila is unable to recapture his glory days on the field, he will provide leadership to both Vasquez and top prospect Blake Swihart, who should be ready to take the catching reins in 2016. David Ross also was brought in as a non-roster invitee to assist in the development of Boston’s young catchers. Lester’s primary catcher the last couple seasons in Boston, Ross has a decent chance to make the club out of spring training especially if Avila’s concussion woes land him on the disabled list.
Finally, the Red Sox took a flier on Jason Motte with an $850,000 contract. Two years removed from “Tommy John” surgery, Motte will have a chance to re-establish himself as an effective late-inning reliever.
Thanks to an active offseason, the Red Sox expect to not only return to relevance in the American League but also to seriously contend for their fourth World Series title this century.
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