Red Sox’ Alex Cora on addition of Yu Chang: ‘His defense is what separates him from the others’

The Red Sox addressed a roster need on Thursday by signing free agent infielder Yu Chang to a one-year, $850,000 contract that comes with performance bonuses.

Coming into the spring, Boston was somewhat light on infield depth. With Trevor Story out for the foreseeable future after undergoing right elbow surgery in January and Adalberto Mondesi still rehabbing from a torn ACL in his left knee, the club found themselves in need of another infielder to add to the mix.

Chang, as it turns out, is someone the Red Sox are already familiar with. They originally claimed the 27-year-old off waivers from the Rays last September. He appeared in 11 games for Boston down the stretch and played every infield position besides third base.

When asked by reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) at JetBlue Park about why the Red Sox elected to bring Chang back on Thursday, manager Alex Cora highlighted Chang’s versatility as to how he helps deepen the team.

“He’s another shortstop,” Cora said. “Obviously, we know that (Mondesi), there’s a chance he won’t be ready for Opening Day. We need a deeper roster. With him, we accomplished that.”

Since Story — who was placed on the 60-day injured list on Thursday — is not expected to be back until the second half and Mondesi may not be ready for the start of the season, Enrique Hernandez and Christian Arroyo currently project to be Boston’s starting shortstop and second baseman, respectively.

Beyond those four, the Red Sox were rather thin on middle infield depth. Prospects like David Hamilton, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Enmanuel Valdez were all added to the 40-man roster in the fall, but none of them have ever played in the majors before.

Chang, on the other hand, is a veteran of four major-league seasons who first broke in with Cleveland in 2019. The 2022 campaign proved to be an eventful one for Chang, as the Taiwan native played in 69 games for four teams (Guardians, Pirates, Rays, and Red Sox) before being non-tendered by Boston in November.

Though he is just a lifetime .213/.279/.360 hitter with 14 home runs and 61 RBIs in 196 career games at the big-league level, Chang — a former top prospect in his own right — is well-regarded for his defense. Last year, for instance, 6-foot-1, 180-pounder had a positive Ultimate Zone Rating at all four infield positions and ranked in the 81st percentile of all major-leaguers in Outs Above Average (+3), per Baseball Savant.

“His defense was good. He put good at-bats but defensively, he’s solid,” Cora said. “You can move him around. Good athlete. He put together competitive at-bats but I think his defense is what separates him from the others.”

Chang will not be joining the Red Sox in Fort Myers until mid-March since he will be suiting up for Team Chinese Taipei in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Once Chang arrives at the Fenway South complex, though, he will likely have an inside track on making Boston’s Opening Day roster out of spring training.

(Picture of Yu Chang: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox sign Yu Chang to one-year deal, place Trevor Story on 60-day injured list

The Red Sox have signed free agent infielder Yu Chang to a one-year major-league contract for the 2023 season, the club announced earlier Thursday morning. In order to make room for Chang on the 40-man roster, shortstop Trevor Story was placed on the 60-day injured list due to right elbow ulnar collateral ligament repair.

Chang, 27, will earn $850,000 with the Red Sox this season and will have the chance to make more via performance bonuses, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

This will mark Chang’s second stint with Boston. The Red Sox originally claimed the versatile right-handed hitter off waivers from the Rays last September. He appeared in 11 games for the club down the stretch, batting .150 (3-for-20) with two doubles, one RBI, three runs scored, five walks, and seven strikeouts over 26 trips to the plate.

Chang was projected by MLB Trade Rumors to earn $900,000 in arbitration this year, but he was instead non-tendered by Boston in November, which allowed him to become a free agent in the first place. Fast forward three months, and the Red Sox are now bringing Chang back at a slightly lower price.

With Story sidelined for the foreseeable future after undergoing right elbow surgery in January and Adalberto Mondesi’s status for Opening Day in question as he continues to recover from a torn ACL in his left knee, the Red Sox found themselves in need of some middle infield depth as the start of the season approaches. They wound up turning to a familiar face to complement the likes of Enrique Hernandez and Christian Arroyo on the big-league roster.

Chang will not report to Red Sox camp in Fort Myers until mid-March, as he is slated to play for Team Chinese Taipei in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Once he does join the team, though, the Taiwan native will likely have an inside track to making Boston’s Opening Day roster out of spring training since he has prior major-league experience. The same cannot be said for other infielders on the 40-man roster, like prospects David Hamilton, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Enmanuel Valdez.

A former international signing of the Guardians out of Taitung in 2013, Chang was regarded as one of the top prospects in Cleveland’s farm system prior to making his debut as a 23-year-old in June 2019. He spent parts of four seasons with the Guardians before being traded to the Pirates last May. After a little more than month in Pittsburgh, he was claimed off waivers by the Rays, though his stint in Tampa Bay did not last too long, either.

For his big-league career, Chang is a lifetime .213/.279/.360 hitter with 22 doubles, four triples, 14 home runs, 61 runs driven in, 60 runs scored, one stolen base, 40 walks, and 154 strikeouts in 196 games (538 plate appearances) between the Guardians, Pirates, Rays, and Red Sox.

Defensively, Chang has past experience at all four infield positions. With Boston last year, the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder logged 32 innings at shortstop, 23 innings at second base, and seven innings at first base.

Chang, who turns 28 in July, becomes the eighth free agent the Red Sox have added on a major-league contract this offseason. He joins Kenley Jansen, Corey Kluber, Chris Martin, Joely Rodriguez, Justin Turner, Adam Duvall, and Masataka Yoshida.

(Picture of Yu Chang: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Red Sox sign left-hander Cam Booser to minor-league deal

The Red Sox have signed free agent left-hander Cam Booser to a minor-league contract, per the club’s transactions log on MLB.com.

Booser, 30, spent the first half of the 2022 season in the Diamondbacks organization after signing a minors pact with Arizona last February. The lefty posted a 6.48 ERA and 6.60 FIP with 30 strikeouts to 22 walks in 19 relief appearances (25 innings) for Double-A Amarillo before being released by the Sod Poodles in July.

Less than a month after getting cut loose by the Diamondbacks, Booser latched on with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the independent Atlantic League. He appeared in 13 games for Lancaster down the stretch and pitched to a 4.63 ERA with 15 strikeouts to six walks over 11 2/3 innings of work.

A native of the Seattle-area, Booser has had an interesting journey in professional baseball. He originally attended the esteemed Oregon State University, but he underwent Tommy John surgery after his freshman year and missed the entirety of his sophomore season as a result.

After transferring to Central Arizona College as a junior, Booser was passed over in the 2013 amateur draft. He then signed with the Twins as an undrafted free agent and made his pro debut in the Gulf Coast League that August. Booser did not graduate past the rookie-ball level until the onset of the 2015 campaign.

In 32 appearances for Class-A Cedar Rapids that year, Booser forged a 3.72 ERA and 3.57 xFIP to go along with 64 strikeouts to 40 walks across 46 2/3 innings of relief. He was named a Midwest League All-Star for his efforts, but that success did not carry over into 2016. Booser instead struggled to an 8.53 ERA (6.24 FIP) in 21 total outings (25 1/3 innings) between Cedar Rapids and High-A Fort Myers.

The following June, Booser was handed down a 50-game suspension for testing positive for a drug of abuse for the second time (he was previously suspended for testing positive for marijuana in 2015). Over the course of the 2017 season, Booser pitched in just three games. He elected to retire from baseball that November.

“I needed a break,” Booser told The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan back in April. “I needed, for my own mental side, to get away and figure out who I was off the field.”

And so Booser returned home to join a carpenters union. He worked construction around northwest Washington state and gave baseball lessons on the side.

In late 2020, Booser got the itch to pitch again and began throwing off a mound at a local facility. He started to work with current Mets pitching coordinator and former Driveline Baseball instructor Kyle Rogers before landing a contract with the Chicago Dogs of the independent American Association in July 2021.

Booser impressed with Chicago (1.93 ERA in 21 1/3 innings) and leveraged his performance there into a minor-league deal with the Diamondbacks as soon as he was officially released by the Twins last winter. During his time with Arizona’s Double-A affiliate, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound southpaw sat in the high-90s and topped out at 100 mph with his four-seam fastball. He also works with a low-90s cutter and mid-80s slider.

Booser, who turns 31 in May, has been assigned to Double-A Portland. He should provide Sea Dogs manager Chad Epperson with another left-handed relief option to complement the likes of Skylar Arias and Brendan Cellucci, among others.

(Picture of Cam Booser: John E. Moore III/Getty Images)

Red Sox pitching prospect Brendan Cellucci ended his 2022 season on a strong note

The Red Sox have a number of intriguing left-handed pitching prospects within their farm system. Brendan Cellucci is among them.

Cellucci, now 24, was originally selected by Boston in the 12th round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Tulane University. The Philadelphia-area native signed with the club for $345,000 and made his professional debut for short-season Lowell later that summer.

What would have been Cellucci’s first full season in pro ball was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. He then spent the entirety of the 2021 minor-league campaign with High-A Greenville and also pitched for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League.

After taking part in the Red Sox’ Winter Warm-Up minicamp last January, Cellucci returned to Greenville for the start of the 2022 season. The left-hander began the year in the Drive’s bullpen, but he struggled to the tune of an 11.70 ERA over nine relief appearances (10 innings pitched) out of the gate.

Three days following another tough showing against the Rome Braves at Fluor Field on May 8, Cellucci did something he had not done since pitching on Cape Cod in 2019: he started a game. On May 11, Cellucci served as an opener for Greenville and struck out four of the six batters he faced over two scoreless, no-hit frames on the road against the Asheville Tourists.

For the next month, Cellucci continued to open games for the Drive every three to four days. In 10 starts from May 11-June 12, he produced a 1.83 ERA and .141 batting average against to go along with 30 strikeouts to 14 walks across 19 2/3 total innings of work.

Though he found success in an opening role, Cellucci returned to the Greenville bullpen in mid-June. The results (such as a 7.04 ERA in his next 13 outings) were not pretty at first, but the lefty was able to settle down a bit following a five-run blowup against Rome on August 3.

Against that same Braves team four days later, Cellucci worked a scoreless seventh inning. He then proceeded to keep the opposition off the scoreboard in eight of his next 10 appearances, putting up a 1.06 ERA and .155 batting average against with 22 strikeouts to six walks over 17 innings pitched altogether.

On September 16, Cellucci earned a late-season promotion to Double-A Portland. He appeared in two games for the Sea Dogs down the stretch and did not surrender run while recording three punchouts and zero walks in 2 1/3 frames of relief.

All told, it was an up-and-down season for Cellucci. Between Greenville and Portland, he wound up posting a 4.34 ERA and 4.64 FIP with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 85:44 over 45 total appearances (10 starts) spanning 64 1/3 innings. Opponents hit .238/.374/.340 with six home runs in 290 plate appearances against him.

According to FanGraphs, 30 minor-league pitchers in the Red Sox organization accrued at least 60 innings on the mound last year. Among them, Cellucci ranked second in strikeouts per nine innings (11.89), 30th in walks per nine innings (6.16), fourth in strikeout rate (29.3 percent), 30th in walk rate (15.2 percent), 11th in batting average against, 26th in WHIP (1.55), seventh in line-drive rate (18.4 percent), ninth in groundball rate (48 percent), ninth in swinging-strike rate (13 percent), 14th in ERA, 18th in xFIP (4.61), and 20th in FIP.

Cellucci could have been added to Boston’s 40-man roster at the end of the season in order to receive protection from the Rule 5 Draft. The Red Sox, however, left Cellucci unprotected and he unsurprisingly did not get scooped up by another team on the final day of the Winter Meetings in December.

While he is not considered to be one of the top relief prospects in Boston’s farm system, Cellucci does have potential. His strikeout numbers are indicative of that, though his struggles to command the strike zone at times do lead to some concerns surrounding his long-term outlook.

Per his SoxProspects.com scouting report, Cellucci is a three-pitch pitcher who possesses a max-effort, over the top delivery. The 6-foot-4, 211-pound southpaw operates with a 91-93 mph fastball that tops out at 95 mph (and has topped out at 97 mph in the past), an 88-90 mph cutter, and an 82-88 mph slider.

Cellucci, who turns 25 in June, is projected to return to Portland for the upcoming 2023 season. He will once again be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft next winter, but will presumably look to make strides with the Sea Dogs in the meantime.

(Picture of Brendan Cellucci: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Former Red Sox right-hander Michael Wacha agrees to deal with Padres, per report

Former Red Sox starter Michael Wacha has agreed to a deal with the Padres, as was first reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

According to the Associated Press, the contract, which is still pending a physical, is believed to be for multiple years and similar in structure to the three-year deal San Diego gave fellow right-hander Nick Martinez back in November.

Rosenthal further reports that Wacha could earn more than $24 million over four years with the Padres. The deal includes player and team options and its structure lowers the average annual value for luxury tax purposes.

Wacha, 31, is now slated to join his fifth team in the last five years after originally signing a one-year, $7 million pact with Boston at the conclusion of the 2021 campaign. The former 2012 first-round draft pick out of Texas A&M first broke in with the Cardinals in 2013 and has also pitched for the Mets and Rays.

In 23 starts for the Red Sox last season, Wacha posted a 3.32 ERA and 1.12 WHIP with 104 strikeouts to 31 walks over 127 1/3 innings of work. While the veteran hurler put up solid surface-level numbers, he produced a less-than-desirable 4.14 FIP and 20.2 percent strikeout rate. The righty also ranked in the 27th percentile of all big-league pitchers in expected batting average (.254), the 13th percentile in expected slugging percentage (.446), the 14th percentile in barrel rate (9.6 percent), and the 12th percentile in whiff rate (20.7 percent), per Baseball Savant.

Though Wacha led all Red Sox pitchers in Baseball-Reference’s Wins Above Replacement metric (3.3 bWAR) in 2022, he did miss time with injuries. From May 5-20 he was sidelined with left intercostal irritation. From July 5-August 14, he was sidelined with right shoulder inflammation.

Taking those factors into consideration, it does not appear as though the Red Sox made a strong effort to bring Wacha back in free agency despite publicly expressing interest in a reunion. With other starters such as Chris Sale, Nick Pivetta, Corey Kluber, Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock, James Paxton, and Tanner Houck already on the roster, Wacha would have only added to Boston’s starting pitching surplus.

In agreeing to a deal with the Padres, Wacha will join a rotation mix in San Diego that includes the likes of Martinez, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Seth Lugo, and Adrian Morejon, among others.

Wacha, who turns 32 in July, is the second member of the 2022 Red Sox to leave Boston for San Diego as a free agent this winter. Back in December, as you may recall, Xander Bogaerts inked a monstrous 11-year, $280 million contract with the Friars.

(Picture of Michael Wacha: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Masataka Yoshida tries Puerto Rican food, Christian Vázquez reunites with former Red Sox teammates at Alex Cora’s Super Bowl watch party

Red Sox manager Alex Cora hosted a Super Bowl watch party at his home in Fort Myers on Sunday night.

Third base coach Carlos Febles, outfielder Masataka Yoshida, infielders Enrique Hernandez and Trevor Story, and former Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez were all on hand to watch the Kansas City Chiefs come from behind and defeat the Philadelphia Eagles by a final score of 38-35.

Vazquez, who was traded to the Astros last summer, signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Twins back in December. Minnesota, like Boston, calls Fort Myers its spring training home, so the veteran backstop did not have to travel far to reunite with some of his former teammates.

“There was a lot of giving him a hard time because [Cora] told us to show up at 4 p.m. and he told him to show up at 5,” Hernandez said of Vazquez when speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) at JetBlue Park on Monday. “He was like, ‘Well, he told me to show up at 5.’ I was like, ‘Well, you’re on another team now. We were talking about the signs and stuff and you can’t know the signs now.’”

While Hernandez and Vazquez are no longer teammates on the Red Sox, the two will represent Puerto Rico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic next month. Boston is scheduled to host Team Puerto Rico in an exhibition contest leading up to the tournament on March 8.

“He’s been going to their facility for a couple weeks now,” added Hernandez. “So it was just asking him who’s there already and what’s different from there and here. There’s not much he can say yet because camp hasn’t started but it was just good seeing him. We kept in touch in the offseason. But seeing each other in person is just good.”

Yoshida, who was an early arrival at Red Sox camp last week, was introduced to two new things on Sunday night: American football and Puerto Rican cuisine. Cora’s party was catered by chef Herminio Ithier of HIT Food & Beverage Entertainment.

“A lot of questions to Masa asking if he knew what a touchdown was and all that,” said Hernandez. “It was also his first time eating Puerto Rican food. So it was good. It was good having him there and having him form part of the group and it was also good seeing [Vazquez] again.”

Yoshida came over from Japan and signed a five-year, $90 million contract with the Red Sox in December after spending the last seven seasons with the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball. The 29-year-old had a tougher time adjusting to the intricacies of football as opposed to unfamiliar food.

“I think food is a universal language,” Hernandez explained. “Everybody eats it the same way. Football is a little more complicated. A lot of rules when it comes to football. Not a lot of rules when it comes to eating.”

Like Hernandez, Yoshida will leave the Red Sox in the coming weeks to train with Team Japan ahead of the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

(Picture of Masataka Yoshida: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Former Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki signs minor-league deal with Pirates

Former Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki has signed a minor-league contract with the Pirates, the club announced on Sunday. The deal includes an invite to big-league spring training and a salary of $1.5 million if Plawecki makes it to the majors with Pittsburgh, per WEEI’s Rob Bradford.

Plawecki, who turns 32 later this month, spent the better part of the last three seasons with the Red Sox after originally signing with the club as a free agent in January 2020. He primarily served as Christian Vazquez’s backup before being somewhat surprisingly designated for assignment — and subsequently released — by Boston last September.

At that time, the Red Sox were already looking ahead to 2023 and wanted to get Connor Wong and the recently-acquired Reese McGuire as many reps as possible behind the plate. In order to accomplish that, they elected to move on from Plawecki, though that decision was not a popular one among other veterans in the clubhouse.

“It was very difficult,” Rich Hill told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. “Throughout the clubhouse, it was a tough one for everybody. What everybody sees out in the field and in the dugout… what you don’t realize is the humanity side of this game. We’re not just all numbers. We’re human beings. And removing a guy like that from the clubhouse is a big hit for a lot of guys. I would say everybody in here.”

After batting just .217/.287/.287 with one home run and 12 RBIs in 60 games (175 plate appearances) with the Red Sox last year, Plawecki latched on with the Rangers and appeared in three games for the club before the 2022 campaign came to a close. Between Boston and Texas, he threw out just five of 51 possible base stealers.

In his three seasons with the Red Sox from 2020-2022, Plawecki slashed .270/.333/.364 with 20 doubles, one triple, five homers, 44 runs driven in, 107 runs scored, one stolen base, 31 walks, and 68 strikeouts over 148 total games (437 plate appearances). The right-handed hitter also gained notoriety for his role in Boston’s laundry cart home run celebration and his walk-up song (Calum Scott’s remix of “Dancing On My Own”), which ultimately served as the club’s anthem during their run to the American League Championship Series in 2021.

By signing with the Pirates, Plawecki will presumably be competing for a spot on Pittsburgh’s bench behind the likes of Austin Hedges and prospect Endy Rodriguez, who are currently the only two backstops on the club’s 40-man roster. The Bucs will also have fellow catchers Carter Bins, Henry Davis, Jason Delay, and Tyler Heineman in camp as non-roster invitees.

Plawecki becomes the second member of the 2022 Red Sox to join the Pirates organization this offseason, as Hill previously inked a one-year, $8 million deal with Pittsburgh back in December.

(Picture of Kevin Plawecki: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Rafael Devers, Masataka Yoshida among 12 Red Sox players who will take part in 2023 World Baseball Classic

The Red Sox will have 12 major- and minor-leaguers representing their respective countries/territories in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, which gets underway next month.

Rafael Devers (Dominican Republic), Masataka Yoshida (Japan), Enrique Hernandez (Puerto Rico), Alex Verdugo and Jarren Duran (Mexico), Nick Pivetta (Canada), Richard Bleier (Israel) and Kenley Jansen (Netherlands) make up 20 percent of Boston’s current 40-man roster.

Jansen, who signed a two-year, $32 million deal with the Red Sox in December, is on Netherlands’ roster but only as a member of their designated pitcher pool, meaning the veteran reliever will not be eligible to join the team during pool play.

Ceddanne Rafaela, one of the top prospects in Boston’s farm system, was expected to play for the Netherlands, but the 22-year-old out of Curacao was instead omitted from the team’s final roster.

Trevor Story originally committed to play for the United States last July but took himself out of consideration for a roster spot by undergoing an internal bracing procedure on his right elbow last month. As a result, the Red Sox have no representation on Team USA. It should be noted that while both Verdugo and Duran were born in the United States, they are of Mexican-American descent.

Turning to the minor-league side of things, Jorge Alfaro and Rio Gomez will both play for Colombia. Alfaro signed a minors pact with the Red Sox last month and received an invite to big-league spring training. Gomez, on the other hand has been in the organization since being taken in the 36th round of the 2017 amateur draft out of the University of Arizona.

Edwin Diaz will join Hernandez in representing Puerto Rico after signing a minor-league deal with Boston in January. The 27-year-old infielder had been playing for Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Series before they were eliminated by Mexico on Wednesday.

Norwith Gudino is the Sox’ lone representative from Venezuela. The 27-year-old right-hander inked a minor-league contract with the Red Sox in December and — in similar fashion to Jansen — is part of his country’s player pool.

The 2023 World Baseball Classic begins on March 8. Pool play runs through March 15 and the quarterfinals take place from March 15-18. The semifinals run from March 19-20 and the championship game will be held at loanDepot Park in Miami on March 21.

Before that all happens, the Red Sox will take on Puerto Rico in an exhibition game at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers on March 8. Team Puerto Rico will also train at the Fenway South complex prior to the start of the tournament.

(Picture of Rafael Devers: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Former Red Sox lefty Kyle Hart agrees to minor-league deal with Phillies

Former Red Sox left-hander Kyle Hart has agreed to terms on a minor-league contract with the Phillies, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. It is unclear if the deal comes with an invite to major-league spring training.

Hart, 30, was originally selected by Boston in the 19th round of the 2016 amateur draft out of Indiana University Bloomington. As an unheralded senior, the Ohio native signed with the club for a modest $5,000 and made his professional debut in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League that summer.

After working his way up the minor-league ladder in 2017 and 2018, Hart put together an impressive 2019 campaign in which he posted a 3.52 ERA with 140 strikeouts to 53 walks in 27 outings (24 starts) spanning 156 innings of work between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket. That November, the Red Sox added the southpaw to their 40-man roster in order to prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft.

Hart entered the COVID-shortened 2020 season ranked by Baseball America as the No. 29 prospect in Boston’s farm system. He made his major-league debut that August, but struggled to a 15.55 ERA (19 earned runs in 11 innings) across four appearances (three starts) and was outrighted off the Sox’ 40-man roster in the fall of that year.

Since then, Hart has spent the last two seasons pitching in the minors. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound hurler forged a 4.22 ERA with Worcester in 2021 and followed that up by producing a 5.25 ERA with 74 strikeouts to 33 walks in 82 1/3 innings between the WooSox and Sea Dogs last year before reaching minor-league free agency for the first time.

In agreeing to a minors pact with Philadelphia, Hart will be joining just the second organization of his professional career. With that being said, it should be mentioned that Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was at the helm in Boston when Hart was drafted by the Red Sox in 2016.

(Picture of Kyle Hart: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Coming off solid 2022 season with Red Sox, Michael Wacha remains unsigned as spring training nears

Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to their respective spring training sites in Arizona and Florida in just a matter of days, yet Michael Wacha remains unsigned despite being the top free agent starting pitcher still on the market.

Wacha, 31, posted a 3.32 ERA and 1.12 WHIP with 104 strikeouts to 31 walks in 23 starts (127 1/3 innings pitched) for the Red Sox last season after signing a one-year, $7 million deal with Boston in November 2021.

While those surface-level numbers are certainly respectable, his 4.14 FIP and 20.2 percent strikeout rate are less encouraging. The veteran right-hander also ranked in the 27th percentile of all big-league pitchers in expected batting average (.254), the 13th percentile in expected slugging percentage (.446), the 14th percentile in barrel rate (9.6 percent), and the 12th percentile in whiff rate (20.7 percent), per Baseball Savant.

Though Wacha led all Red Sox pitchers in Baseball-Reference’s Wins Above Replacement metric last year (3.3 bWAR), he also missed time with injuries. Left intercostal irritation kept him sidelined from May 5-20 while right shoulder inflammation cost him more than a month (July 5-August 14) of action over the summer.

When the offseason first began in November, the Red Sox entertained the idea of extending Wacha a qualifying offer, which would have tied the righty to draft pick compensation. They elected not to go in that direction and instead issued qualifying offers to Xander Bogaerts and Nathan Eovaldi, who both left the club by signing with the Padres and Rangers in free agency.

Wacha, meanwhile, has not had much of a market to speak of. He has been loosely linked to the Angels, Orioles, and Twins this winter, though Baltimore and Minnesota have recently added starting pitching by acquiring Cole Irvin and Pablo Lopez, respectably, via trade.

Last month, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that Wacha was seeking a two-year deal. Bob Nightengale added on by relaying that the CAA Sports client was looking for a contract that would net him $15 million per year, or about $30 million altogether.

That Wacha prefers a multi-year offer is not all that surprising when you consider the fact that he has settled for one-year pacts with the Red Sox, Rays, and Mets in each of the last three offseasons. An additional, guaranteed year of security would be rewarding, but it seems as though teams are hesitant to go that far given Wacha’s recent health history and discouraging peripherals.

Wacha, who turns 32 in July, may have to settle for another one-year deal or a one-year deal with an option attached if he intends on signing with a club before Opening Day. At this point, a reunion with the Red Sox seems unlikely since already Boston has seven starters (Chris Sale, Nick Pivetta, Garrett Whitlock, Corey Kluber, James Paxton, Brayan Bello, and Tanner Houck) in its rotation mix heading into camp.

Of course, Wacha’s market could heat up if teams sustain rotation injuries over the course of spring training and find themselves in need of an established replacement leading up to the start of the season.

(Picture of Michael Wacha: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)