The Red Sox have six free agents of their own this winter, with Justin Turner and Adam Duvall headlining a group of veterans who officially hit the open market Monday. Boston’s connections to the free agent market don’t end there, though. There are plenty of former Red Sox contributors who are now free agents as well, including seven members of the 2018 championship team.
Here’s a list of the 19 ex-Sox who find themselves looking for a new team this winter:
PITCHERS
Matt Barnes
Barnes’ first season outside the Red Sox organization didn’t go as planned, as he pitched a 5.48 ERA in 24 appearances with the Marlins before being shut down for the season due to hip surgery. Miami made the no-brainer decision to decline Barnes’ $9 million option for 2024 and pay him a $2.25 million buyout instead. If the 33-year-old wants to keep pitching, he’ll likely have to take a minor league deal or big league contract with a low guarantee to get a job.
Ryan Brasier
Brasier is a fascinating free agent case after allowing just three earned runs in 38 ⅔ innings (0.70 ERA) with the Dodgers, who picked him up after the Red Sox released him. That was a far cry from the 7.29 ERA and 1.571 WHIP Brasier posted in 20 games with the Red Sox to start the season. Now, the 36-year-old is positioned for multiple teams to pursue him on the open market. He’ll, against all odds, get a raise from the $2 million he earned in 2023.
Jake Diekman
Diekman’s stay in Boston was short-lived, as he lasted just four months with the Red Sox before being traded to the White Sox for Reese McGuire at last year’s trade deadline. The lefty struggled in Chicago but, as many do, turned things around once he joined the Rays and posted a 2.18 ERA while recording 53 strikeouts in 45 ⅓ innings with Tampa Bay. The soon-to-be 37-year-old old will look for his ninth team this winter and will likely draw interest from a bunch of clubs after a strong showing down the stretch.
Rich Hill
Hill split 2023 between Pittsburgh and San Diego after spending 2022 with the Red Sox and struggled to a 5.41 ERA in 146 ⅓ innings. Still, the soon-to-be 44-year-old still knows how to pitch and has a sterling reputation throughout the game, so he’ll have suitors. Hill has teased the possibility of joining a contender int he middle of the season in recent years.
Joe Kelly
Kelly, who finished the season back with the Dodgers after a midseason trade with the White Sox, is back on the open market after Los Angeles declined his $9.5 million option for 2024. The righty was limited to just 10 ⅓ innings in two months with the Dodgers but generally pitched well (4.12 ERA, 2.72 FIP) when healthy last year. The 35-year-old is often hurt but can still dominate in the late innings.
Craig Kimbrel
Kimbrel had a solid single season in Philadelphia (3.26 ERA, 23 saves) but once again struggled in the postseason. The nine-time All-Star, somehow, has now pitched for seven different teams, including four since leaving the Red Sox after 2018. He’ll likely get another one-year deal on the open market.
Mark Melancon
It has been more than a decade since Melancon’s ill-fated stint with the Red Sox in 2012, but he’s still kicking around. The righty turns 39 in March but logged 56 innings for Arizona last season after an All-Star campaign for the Padres in 2022. Quietly, Melancon has accumulated 262 saves in parts of 14 major league seasons. His next team will be his 10th.
Wade Miley
Another pitcher who hasn’t pitched for the Red Sox in years, Miley is still going, too. He has pitched for three different NL Central teams over the last three years and, very quietly, has pitched well, posting a 3.26 ERA in 320 ⅓ combined innings for the Reds, Cubs and Brewers. Miley, who turns 37 next week, declined his end of a $10 million mutual option for next year, meaning he thinks he’ll sign for more on the open market.
Collin McHugh
McHugh never actually pitched for the Red Sox, as he opted out before the pandemic-shortened 2020 season after signing a free agent deal. He dominated in 2021 for the Rays and again in 2022 for Atlanta before stumbling a bit and posting a 4.30 ERA in 58 ⅔ innings last season. Traditionally a swingman, McHugh can still help a team as he enters his age-37 season.
Adam Ottavino
Ottavino pitched pretty well for the Red Sox in 2021 and was even better (2.62 ERA in 127 ⅓ innings) for the Mets over the last two seasons. The righty turns 38 later this month but is still plenty effective. He turned some heads Monday with the somewhat surprising decision to decline a $6.75 million option for next season after extension talks with the Mets broke down.
Martín Pérez
Pérez now has a ring after going 10-4 with a 4.45 ERA in 141 ⅔ innings for the World Series champion Rangers in 2023. His two years in Texas (his second stint there) couldn’t have gone much better as he made an All-Star team, won a title and posted a 3.54 ERA in 338 innings. Now 32, Pérez still is relatively young despite having 12 years of major league experience. He’ll get a deal to help a team in the back end of its rotation.
Drew Pomeranz
Pomeranz’s career took on a second life after he left Boston in 2018, as a move to the bullpen turned him dominant. After signing a four-year, $34 million contract to return to San Diego after the 2021 season, Pomeranz pitched to a 1.62 ERA in limited action (44 ⅓ innings) in 2020 and 2021 but has dealt with injuries for much of the last three seasons. The lefty, 35 later this month, has been dealing with elbow issues for years and did not pitch in the majors in either of the last two seasons. It’s unclear if he plans to pitch again.
Eduardo Rodríguez
Rodríguez will earn the biggest contract of any former Red Sox player this winter. The lefty decided to forego the final three years and $49 million on his deal with Detroit in an effort to hit free agency again. Rodriguez, who turns 31 in April, left the Red Sox after six seasons to sign a five-year, $77 million deal with the Tigers in Nov. 2021. That contract paid him $28 million over the last two years. In total, he pitched to an 18-14 record and 3.58 ERA in 43 starts (243 ⅔ innings) during his time with the Tigers. He got off to a torrid start in 2023 and finished with a 13-9 record and 3.30 ERA in 26 starts (152 ⅔ innings).
MLBTradeRumors has Rodríguez projected for a four-year, $82 million deal.
Michael Wacha
Wacha signed a unique deal with the Padres after a solid one-year cameo in Boston in 2022 but the Padres decided to decline a two-year, $32 million option they had over him. That decision wasn’t a no-brainer after Wacha pitched to a 14-4 record and 3.22 ERA (3.89 FIP) in 134 ⅓ innings. The 32-year-old will almost certainly want a multi-year contract after pitching for five different teams over the last five seasons.
MLBTradeRumors pegged Wacha as earning a three-year, $36 million contract this winter.
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POSITION PLAYERS
Kiké Hernández
Hernández was one of the biggest busts of the Red Sox season but looked comfortable once he was traded back to the Dodgers and gave Los Angeles a lift down the stretch. The 32-year-old will always have value due to his versatility and will have interest from contenders who want to sign him to a one-year deal.
J.D. Martinez
Martinez turned back the clock in 2023 with an excellent season. He hit .271 with 33 homers, 103 RBIs and an .893 OPS in 113 games with the Dodgers and looks once again positioned for a multi-year contract after taking a one-year, $10 million contract last year. Helping his value is the fact the Dodgers didn’t issue him a qualifying offer Monday. He’ll have something of a similar market to Justin Turner once again.
MLBTradeRumors has Martinez projected for a two-year, $40 million deal on the open market.
Tommy Pham
Pham became something of a postseason folk hero with big hits and bold on-the-record interviews. And put simply, he can still hit. Though Pham’s two-month stint with the Red Sox at the end of 2022 was disappointing, Pham combined to hit .256 with 16 homers, 68 RBIs and a .774 OPS between the Mets and the Diamondbacks. Entering his age-36 season, Pham will be brought in by some team that’s looking for a lefty-masher who may shake up the culture a little bit.
Kevin Pillar
Pillar only spent a month in Boston early in the 2020 season and has bounced around since then. He’ll look for a new club after hitting just .228 with a .664 OPS in 81 games for the Braves last season.
Hunter Renfroe
Renfroe is baseball’s great traveling man. He’s just 31 (32 in January) and has only been a free agent once, yet he has been on six different teams (Padres, Rays, Red Sox, Brewers, Angels, Reds) since 2019. He’ll look for a team looking for a masher in their outfield. Anything more than a one-year deal is unlikely after Renfroe hit .233 with a .713 OPS in 2023.
