The Boston Red Sox’s starting rotation is already in a better position than it was a few weeks ago.
With Lucas Giolito going to free agency, the Red Sox clearly needed some more firepower. Boston already has responded and added one starter in Sonny Gray. Unsurprisingly, the topic of adding another starter popped up before the dust could even settle on the Gray trade. Part of the reason for this is that chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has been clear about his intentions to add pitching at the top of the rotation this offseason.
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Gray has been a star in the big leagues for a long time. There’s an argument that he could slot in between Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello and Boston could be perfectly good pitching-wise. Some have argued that Gray might not be the No. 2 option Boston needs. That’s up to interpretation, but Alex Speier of the Boston Globe did crack open the door to the possibility of another starter.
Boston might not be done in the rotation
“If those boasts aren’t idle, and Gray can both sustain his durability of recent years (his 177 innings per season since 2023 rank 11th in MLB, one inning behind Dylan Cease) and improve upon his pitch usage and locations to reduce hard contact, he might perform at a level more widely seen as that of a No. 2,” Speier wrote. “That said, part of Breslow’s hesitance 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. For now, aside from Garrett Crochet as the team’s true No. 1, the rest of the starter designations are subject to change — potentially including Gray’s.”
Most of the top free agent starters are still available, like Framber Valdez, Rangers Suarez, and Michael King. Giolito also is still out there for the taking as well. There are plenty of pitchers who have been linked to trade talks as well, like Joe Ryan, Freddy Peralta, Sandy Alcántara, and Edward Cabrera, among others.
If Boston wants more pitching, there are options. If the Red Sox want to roll with what they have, that arguably would be good too.
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