Tag: offseason

Red Sox expected to be aggressive in their pursuit of Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, per report

The Red Sox are expected to be aggressive in their pursuit of Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, according to Boston Sports Journal’s Sean McAdam.

Sugano, 31, has been posted by the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, effective Tuesday morning at 8 am eastern time, per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi.

The veteran hurler is coming off a 2020 campaign in which he posted a 1.97 ERA and recorded 131 strikeouts over 20 outings and 137 1/3 innings of work for Yomiuri.

In his eight-year professional career, Sugano has taken home two Sawamura Awards — the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young Award — in 2017 and 2018 as well as the Central League MVP Award in 2014.

A six-time All-Star in Japan, Sugano is projected to be a No. 3 or No. 4 starter stateside as he becomes one of the better starting pitchers available on the free agent market.

As you may already be aware, the Red Sox are a team in need of starting pitching this offseason. General manager Brian O’Halloran said as much when addressing reporters via Zoom earlier Monday.

“There are certainly a number of starting pitching options out there of various stripes, and also, of course, there’s a trade market,” said O’Halloran. “Several of those pitchers have signed but there are plenty of opportunities to delve into that market further, either via free agency or trade. Starting pitching and pitching in general is an area we’d like to improve and add depth to. We continue to work on that.”

Sugano would certainly fit that need given his accomplished career in Japan. But, as McAdam notes, “the Red Sox won’t be alone in their bidding” for him.

More specifically, per McAdam, “While multiple industry sources confirm the Red Sox have extensive scouting reports on the righthander and intend to be aggressive in their pursuit, other teams — including many big market teams, have similar levels of interest.”

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel predicted over the weekend that a two-year, $24 million deal could be enough for a team to land Sugano’s services as a result of the revenue losses Major League Baseball and its clubs suffered in 2020.

Of course, any club interested in pursuing Sugano, such as the Red Sox, will beginning on Tuesday have until January 7 at 5 pm eastern time to negotiate a contract with the 6-foot-1, 183 lb. hurler.

Should be something to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

Red Sox remove utilityman Yairo Muñoz from 40-man roster, outright him to Triple-A

The Red Sox have outrighted utilityman Yairo Munoz to Triple-A Pawtucket, the club announced earlier Monday afternoon.

Munoz, who turns 26 next month, originally signed a minor-league pact with Boston back in late March following his release from the St. Louis Cardinals earlier that month.

After being added to the club’s 60-man player pool in July, the Dominican Republic native eventually had his contract purchased and was added to the Sox’ 40-man roster on August 31 in the wake of the trade deadline.

In a brief stint with Boston, Munoz impressed, going 15-for-45 (.333) at the plate with one home run, four RBI, and two stolen bases over 12 games played before hitting the injured list due to a lower back strain on September 19. The 5-foot-11 right-handed hitter also proved he could play both corner outfield positions to some degree in addition to his abilities as a versatile infielder.

With Munoz, who does have one minor-league option remaining, being outrighted, the Red Sox’ 40-man roster currently stands at 38 players, which holds some significance as the 2020 Rule 5 Draft is this Thursday.

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On another note, as indicated by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, the reason why ‘Triple-A Pawtucket’ has not yet been updated to ‘Triple-A Worcester’ is likely because the team has not moved offices yet. So there’s that.

Red Sox offseason: Dustin Pedroia will have ‘the say in anything going forward with his career,’ GM Brian O’Halloran says

Though his future is undecided at the moment, the Red Sox have remained in contact with Dustin Pedroia over the course of the offseason, general manager Brian O’Halloran said Monday.

Pedroia, 37, has played in just nine total games since the start of the 2018 season on account of undergoing three procedures on his left knee over the last three years.

“We talk to Dustin and his agents all the time,” O’Halloran told reporters via Zoom. “I wouldn’t get into the specifics of any of those conversations, but I understand the question.”

The Sox reinstated Pedroia from the 60-man injured list and added him back to the 40-man roster in late October, but that does not mean the second baseman will be ready to play in 2021.

“Dustin’s not a healthy player right now,” O’Halloran said of Pedroia. “Anything with Dustin, first of all, we’d keep those conversations private. And Dustin’s going to have the say in anything going forward with his career.”

Entering the final year of the eight-year, $110 million contract extension he signed with Boston in 2013, Pedroia did not play at all this past season and has not been with the Sox consistently since Memorial Day 2019. At that time, the four-time All-Star decided to halt all baseball/rehab activities and return to his Arizona home to assess his future.

With all the uncertainty surrounding his status moving forward, Pedroia would seem at serious risk to lose his spot on the Red Sox’ 40-man roster, which currently sits at 39 players.

As the virtual Winter Meetings commence this week, one would thing chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom is going to continue to reshuffle his team’s roster, and freeing up Pedroia’s spot could certainly help with that.

All that being said, Pedroia remains one of the more iconic figures in recent Red Sox history. The former second-round draft pick out of Arizona State has collected 1,805 career hits, a Silver Slugger Award, four Gold Glove Awards, an MVP trophy, and three World Series titles over the course of an illustrious 14-year major-league career.

Because of all those accolades and what he means to the franchise, Pedroia will certainly have plenty of influence on how his situation is handled by the team as the offseason continues.

“As a Red Sox great and someone who I have had the pleasure of knowing for many, many years now,” said O’Halloran, “we would give Dustin the respect of having input on everything that goes on with him and keep any conversations we have with him private.”

Red Sox should consider signing right-hander Ryne Stanek

The Red Sox are a team in need of pitching help — both of the starting rotation and bullpen variety — this offseason. Among the names available via free agency, Ryne Stanek is far from the sexiest. But, the right-hander could prove to be an integral piece of any club’s pitching staff if he regains his 2018-2019 form come next season.

Non-tendered by the Marlins earlier this week, the 29-year-old hurler hits the open market for the first time in his career coming off a lackluster 2020 campaign in which he allowed eight earned runs over just nine relief appearances and 10 innings of work. He was limited due to the fact that he missed a month on the injured list for an undisclosed reason.

Originally acquired by Miami from the Rays at last season’s trade deadline, Stanek had been enjoying success at the major-league level with Tampa Bay prior to his move to South Beach.

Going back to the start of the 2018 season, the St. Louis native had posted a 3.17 ERA and 3.64 FIP in exactly 100 appearances (56 starts) and 122 innings pitched up until the point he was traded in late July 2019.

Those are decent numbers, and considering the fact he was only projected to earn $800,000 in his first season of arbitration eligibility in 2021, Stanek could be someone teams believe will bounce back with a new change of scenery. The Red Sox, by all accounts, could very well be one of those teams.

Not only could Stanek, who works with a four-seamer, slider, and splitter, provide valuable pitching depth for a club in desperate need of it, but there’s the Chaim Bloom factor to consider as well.

Boston’s chief baseball officer was a key member of Tampa Bay’s front office for over a decade, and he most likely had input on who the Rays took with their second first-round pick of the 2013 amateur draft in Stanek, a former Arkansas Razorback.

So far in his tenure with the Sox, Bloom has not shied away from picking up former early-round picks who had fallen off from their former top prospect status. Infielder Christian Arroyo, who was most notably part of the trade that sent Evan Longoria from the Rays to the Giants in 2017, is just one example.

Stanek fits that same mold to some degree, and he would also fit in with the Red Sox on account of the fact that he is versatile, capable of pitching out of the bullpen and serving as an opener when needed.

As mentioned earlier, 56 of Stanek’s 121 appearances with the Rays going back to 2017 had come as an opener. The 6-foot-4 right-hander proved to be quite effective in that role, and he may be able to regain that level of effectiveness if he were to return to it with Boston.

The way the Sox’ rotation looks at the moment in terms of the level of depth, it would not hurt to have an opener as a potential sixth or seventh option if a starter were to go down for whatever reason.

We have certainly seen out fair share of Red Sox openers going back to the latter half of the 2019 season, but bringing in someone like Stanek, one of the role’s innovators, could have the makings to be an underrated offseason addition for Bloom and Co.

Could Red Sox trade Bobby Dalbec in order to upgrade pitching staff?

Could the Red Sox trade power-hitting prospect Bobby Dalbec sometime between now and next season’s trade deadline?

After putting up ridiculous home run numbers in his inaugural season with Boston this year, Dalbec being dealt seems unlikely. However, in a recent article for MLB.com, MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo, and Mike Rosenbaum identified the 25-year-old as a prospect the Sox could trade:

Dalbec’s power, arm and third-base defense are assets, and he homered eight times in 80 at-bats during his big league debut this summer. He could be part of the Red Sox’s future, but he’s also blocked by Rafael Devers at third base and could be used to acquire some much-needed pitching.

Called up from the alternate training site in late August, Dalbec burst onto the scene at the major-league level almost immediately. In 23 games played, the former fourth-round draft pick slashed .263/.359/.600 (152 wRC+) to go along with eight home runs and 16 RBI over 92 plate appearances. In terms of isolated power (.338), he was the Sox’ most dangerous hitter from August 30 through the end of September, per FanGraphs.

All that being said, Dalbec’s success didn’t come without its deterrents. The University of Arizona product punched out 39 times in his 92 plate appearances (42.4 K%), good for the highest strikeout rate among qualified major-league rookies. He still managed to boast a .359 on-base percentage despite all the swings-and-misses, but those strikeout numbers are nonetheless still concerning.

Seeing how this was his first taste of Major League Baseball, the Red Sox could sell high on Dalbec this winter if they so choose. As mentioned in the excerpt above, the right-handed hitting infielde is naturally a third baseman, and he is currently blocked at that position by Rafael Devers, hence the move over to first base.

Of course, one could make the argument that Dalbec established himself as Boston’s everyday first baseman moving forward thanks to what he did at the plate this past season.

With Dalbec, there comes roster flexibility as well, or more specifically, the ability to play both corner infield positions at a quality level defensively. Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said as much about Dalbec last month.

“With Bobby, we want to be able to maintain his ability to play both [corner infield] positions,” said Bloom. “I think the versatility is going to be great for him. That could be important on day one or it could be important in a year or two years. The fact that he is capable [of playing third] is huge. You never want somebody who has the ability to play other positions to be pigeonholed at first base.”

It would appear that Bloom is high on Dalbec, who will enter the 2021 season looking to graduate from his top prospect status.

The Red Sox may be a team in need of starting pitching and bullpen help, that much is true. But is it worth subtracting from the major-league roster in order to make that happen? Is filling one hole in the club’s roster makeup worth creating another one?

Sure, there are options, internal and external, who could take Dalbec’s place and play first base for the Sox. However, as the team enters the next stage of its rebuild/transition process under Bloom, Dalbec should be the primary guy at that position for 2021 and maybe even beyond.

Red Sox, Matt Barnes talked contract extension earlier this year prior to COVID-19 shutdown

Before the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced Major League Baseball to shut down in March, the Red Sox and right-handed reliever Matt Barnes apparently talked about a potential contract extension.

Speaking with The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, the 30-year-old hurler expressed his desire to remain with the organization he began his professional career with back in 2011.

“I’ve expressed my interest to the front office and ownership of wanting to stay in Boston for the rest of my career,” Barnes said. “We had some conversations about a longer relationship moving forward. And then COVID hit and there were so many things going on with the season shut down and the health and safety, things kind of got put on hold a little bit.”

The only member of the Sox’ 2011 draft class who is still currently with the club, the former first-round pick is coming off a 2020 campaign in which he posted a 4.30 ERA and 4.01 xFIP over 24 appearances and 23 innings pitched.

On the surface, those are not exactly spectacular results. But, upon closer inspection, Barnes turned things around for the better in September by allowing just three runs over 10 innings of work spanning his final 11 outings of the year. He did that while limiting opposing hitters to a .556 OPS against while striking out nearly 37% of the batters he faced.

With those improved numbers in mind, the Sox signed Barnes to a $4.5 million contract earlier this week for the upcoming 2021 season, the UCONN product’s final season under team control before becoming a free agent for the first time next winter.

“There had been some discussions on trying to make something work moving forward beyond next season,” Barnes told Speier. “We’ll see if there’s more dialogue going forward. We’re not going to force anything, but some discussions have been had.”

A client of ISE Baseball, Barnes has been one of the more durable relievers in the American League in his time with the Red Sox, appearing in 62 or more games for three straight seasons (2016-2019).

Despite his shortcomings, such as untimely control issues which leads to in uptick in walks at times, the flamethrower has without a doubt proven he has the “ability to go out there and be able to take the ball every single day.”

That being said, if Barnes puts together another solid effort in 2021, he will presumably have a fair number of suitors in need of bullpen help come this time next year.

As things currently stand, Barnes, as noted by Speier, is on the cusp of surpassing the likes of Cy Young, Ellis Kinder, Roger Clemens, and Derek Lowe in all-time appearances with the Red Sox (325).

Barnes would have the chance to move up that list even more if he stayed in Boston beyond in 2020, which, of course, is something he would be more than happy to do.

“It’s the only place where I’ve played,” said Barnes. “It’s a first-class organization. I’d love to spend the rest of my career here.”

Red Sox trade: infield prospect Christian Koss acquired from Rockies in exchange for left-hander Yoan Aybar

The Red Sox have acquired infield prospect Christian Koss from the Rockies in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Yoan Aybar. The club made the trade official earlier Thursday evening.

Koss, who turns 23 in January, was selected by Colorado in the 12th round of the 2019 amateur draft out of the University of California, Irvine.

In 53 games with rookie-level Grand Junction of the Pioneer League last year, the Riverside native posted an impressive .322/.447/.605 slash line (172 wRC+) to go along with 11 home runs and 51 RBI over 238 plate appearances.

Named a mid and post-season Pioneer League All-Star thanks to his efforts, Koss opened the 2020 campaign regarded by Baseball America as the Rockies’ No. 29 prospect.

Capable of playing every infield position besides first base at the moment, the right-handed hitting, right-handed throwing Koss is listed at 6-foot-1 and 182 lbs.

Koss is Rule 5 eligible next winter, so the 2021 season will prove to be an important one for him regardless of where he begins the year, which will likely be High-A Salem.

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As for Aybar, the now-former Sox prospect was added to Boston’s 40-man roster last November, yet he was the only member of the 40-man roster to not be included in the club’s 60-man player pool this past season.

Originally signed as an outfielder out of the Dominican Republic in 2013, the stout southpaw converted into a pitcher full-time in 2018, most recently posting a 4.61 ERA over 44 relief appearances and 56 2/3 innings pitched between Low-A Greenville and High-A Salem last year.

With Aybar being traded to another organization, the Red Sox’ 40-man roster is currently down to 39 players, with plenty more moves to come as the offseason continues.

Red Sox sign Matt Barnes, 6 others to one-year deals, tender contract to Rafael Devers

UPDATE: As noted by MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, the Red Sox also signed right-hander Chris Mazza and outfielder Yairo Munoz to one-year deals on Wednesday.

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The non-tender deadline came and went Wednesday night without the Red Sox cutting a single arbitration or pre-arbitration eligible player from its 40-man roster.

Per a team release, the Sox agreed to one-year contracts with the likes of right-handers Austin Brice, Matt Barnes, Ryan Brasier, and Chris Mazza, left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, and catcher Kevin Plawecki.

Additionally, Boston will tender one-year contracts for the 2021 season to 25 players who remain unsigned, with third baseman Rafael Devers being the most notable of those individuals after the two sides failed to reach agreement on a deal.

The 24-year-old will have until January 15 to come to terms on a contract with the Sox or he will otherwise be headed for salary arbitration for the first time in his career come February.

As for the other players involved here, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo has the details on how much Barnes, Brasier, Brice, Mazza, Munoz, Plawecki, and Rodriguez will be earning next season:

Barnes: $4.5 million salary for 2021
Brasier: $1.25 million salary for 2021
Brice: $870,000 salary for 2021
Mazza: $576,000
Munoz: $582,500
Plawecki: $1.6 million salary for 2021
Rodriguez $8.3 million salary for 2021

All in all, the Red Sox owe this group listed above more than $17.5 million headed into the upcoming season.

Barnes, 30, and Rodriguez, 27, are the only two players who were entering their final year of arbitration eligibility, meaning they will become free agents for the first time in their respective careers next winter barring any extension talks.

On account of them not making any sort of cuts or subtractions on Wednesday, Boston’s 40-man roster is still at full capacity. That is likely to change now that this offseason’s free agency class has increased in size due to other clubs non-tendering a staggering amount of their eligible players in order to save money.

Former Red Sox right-hander Robert Stock claimed off waivers by Cubs

A week after he was designated for assignment, former Red Sox right-hander Robert Stock was claimed off waivers by the Cubs earlier Wednesday afternoon.

Stock, 31, was originally claimed off waivers by Boston from the Phillies back in late July.

In his debut season with the Sox, the flame-throwing righty allowed nine runs (seven earned) on 16 hits and 10 walks over 10 relief appearances and 13 1/3 total innings of work spanning three major-league stints. That’s good for a 4.73 ERA, but a 101 ERA+ and 3.34 FIP as well.

Noted for his fastball velocity since being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round of the 2009 amateur draft, Stock averaged 96.8 mph with his heater this past season while topping out at 99 mph with the pitch.

Now a member of the Cubs’ 40-man roster, the University of Southern California product will presumably have the opportunity to compete for a spot in Chicago’s Opening Day bullpen.

With the loss of Stock, the Red Sox have now in one way or the other removed 11 pitchers — Stock, Domingo Tapia, Matt Hall, Ryan Weber, Robinson Leyer, Andrew Triggs, Mike Kickham, Kyle Hart, Zack Godley, Dylan Covey, and Martin Perez (player option declined) — from their own 40-man roster since the start of the offseason.

Red Sox ‘showing interest’ in two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, per report

The Red Sox are showing interest in free-agent right-hander Corey Kluber, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi.

Kluber, 34, is coming off a 2020 season in which he only made one start and threw one inning for the Rangers on account of suffering a torn right teres muscle against the Rockies on July 26.

Texas had acquired Kluber from the Indians in exchange for outfielder Delino Deshields and pitching prospect Emmanuel Clase last December.

As a result of his only making one start this year, Kluber had his $18 team option declined by the Rangers at the end of October, making him a free agent.

After collecting two American League Cy Young Awards and finishing third or better in A.L. Cy Young voting four times within a five-year span with Cleveland from 2014 through 2018, Kluber has fallen off a bit recently regarding his durability.

Since the start of the 2019 campaign, the three-time All-Star has made just eight starts and accrued 36 2/3 innings of work due to injuries. Last year, he suffered a right ulna fracture in early May, which wound up costing him the rest of the season.

Despite those potential concerns, Kluber was cleared for normal offseason activities back in October and is slated “to be ready to go for spring training,” per WEEI’s Rob Bradford.

As noted by Morosi in the tweet above, Kluber makes his offseason home in the greater Boston area since his wife, Amanda, is a Massachusetts native.

With that connection in mind, Kluber and the Red Sox certainly seem like a possible match, especially if the Texas native was willing to sign a short-term, incentive-laden deal in order to re-establish his value.

Of course, what the veteran righty is seeking in terms of contract details has yet to be revealed, but one thing is for certain: the Red Sox are in need of starting pitching, and for chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Co., Kluber certainly fits the bill.