On the pitching side, the Red Sox still have much work to do, with an obvious need to acquire — through either trade or free agency — two impact starting pitchers.
Before spring training begins, the team could well obtain another lefty, or, at the very least, gather some non-roster invitees (NRIs), creating additional competition in March.
But from a position player standpoint, the Red Sox — with one notable exception — are probably done shopping. In Tyler O’Neil, they landed the righthanded bat in the outfield they sought, one with defensive upside. In Roberto Perez, they found some proven catching depth to stash at Triple A in the event of emergency or injury.
Now, the lone hole remaining to fill is at second base. Once again, the strong preference would be for that candidate to hit righthanded, providing further balance to a lefty-leaning lineup. DH? All signs point to a rotation, where Masataka Yoshida will get some time, along with Rafael Devers, Triston Casas and others sharing the at-bats.
It’s possible the second baseman they land could provide some thump. Brandon Drury, one potential trade target, hit 28 homers two years ago. But it’s more likely the Red Sox seek out a glove-first infielder to upgrade an infield defense that figures to be spotty at both corners.
Where, then, do the Red Sox find a big righthanded bat to fit between Devers and Casas? Shortstop would be a good place to look.
On the face of it, that may sound silly. Story was outstanding defensively over the final seven weeks of the season, good for eight defensive runs saved in just 43 games. Had Story been healthier and played to that same level of excellence in the field for an extended period, there’s a good chance he would have been nominated as a finalist for a Gold Glove.
Offensively, however, was another matter altogether. Story barely cracked the Mendoza Line (.203) and managed just three homers in 158 at-bats.
And this is someone who’s going to slip in and offer protection between two lefty sluggers?
The answer: yes. And only partly because the Red Sox don’t have any other options.
It’s easy to forget that Story has been a well above-average offensive performer in his career. In his five full-length seasons before joining the Red Sox, he never hit fewer than 24 homers and twice cracked 35 or more. In that same span, he had an impressive .523 slugging percentage. (Yes, those numbers were aided by playing half his game at Coors Field, but the adjustments necessary to succeed there can often create bad habits and depress production elsewhere).
Story isn’t Alex Rodriguez with the bat, but he is an offensive threat, even with an alarmingly high career strikeout rate of 28.2 percent, which soared to 32.7 percent last season.
But the Story everyone saw last year was from 100 percent. Story underwent an internal bracing procedure — a sort of modified Tommy John surgery — on his right elbow and didn’t return to Boston’s lineup until August. When he did come back, his timing was poor and he had difficulty connecting on breaking pitches, battling a lowly .070 against them, while often being late on fastballs.
That’s not likely to continue. Story is enjoying a healthy offseason for the first time in a while and should regain his timing. His manager is expecting big things from him.
“He’s a very dynamic player,” Alex Cora noted at the winter meetings. “He’s not only a good defender, but he can hit the ball out of the ballpark. He can run the bases well and he can steal bases. You saw him last year — whenever he got on, the leads were elite. The decision-making was elite and when he’s right, he can run into 30 (homers). It’s just a matter of consistency.
“I give him a mulligan last year because of the at-bats he missed, the elbow. We always talk about the throwing part (after elbow surgery); how about the swing part? It was the top hand, so there were a lot of adjustments he had to make. He wasn’t able to catch up to the fastball and he knows it, so that’s something he’s been working on, to clean up (his swing).
“I think if he puts it all together, with power, speed and defense….that’s kind of where the game is going to go. Where the game is going now as an industry, he’s kind of like the perfect fit at shortstop for a team with championship ambitions. I think the offensive part of the game is going to take a step forward. (I’m) very excited for him. When he’s on, he’s one of the best shortstops in the game.”
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Story doesn’t need to hit .300, and with a lifetime .265 batting average, that’s not a reasonable expectation anyway. But Story can mash, and if he can deliver 25-30 homers and belt another 35-40 doubles while cutting down some on his strikeouts, sandwiched between Devers and Casas, he could provide a formidable middle of the lineup for the Red Sox.
A batting order featuring speedsters such as Jarren Duran, and in time, Ceddanne Rafaela, could provide the trio of Devers, Story and Casas with plenty of run-producing opportunities.
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The Red Sox starting rotation remains in dire need of an upgrade, and presumably will be improved in the coming weeks.
But if the Red Sox do nothing more to their bullpen — they could stand at least one more lefty; free agent Wandy Peralta would constitute a nice pickup — it will still represent a team strength.
The back end is capably manned by closer Kenley Jansen and set-up man Chris Martin, as good a late-inning combo as the Red Sox have had in some time.
But it’s the depth leading up to that pair that has the potential to make the Red Sox bullpen elite.
Even if the Red Sox indulge Josh Winckowski in his quest to return to starting, they still have John Schreiber as another power arm (10.2 strikeouts per nine innings) for the seventh inning. Brennan Bernardino is, for now, the lone lefty who seems assured of a spot, and he excelled in every conceivable role last year (opener, matchup lefty, middle relief).
Then there’s a host of swingmen and/or depth starters who can populate the rest of the bullpen. Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock and Kutter Crawford are all candidates. As starters, Houck has had difficulty being efficient while Whitlock has battled both inconsistency and injuries. Crawford turned a corner last year, but recorded an out past the fifth inning just nine times in 23 starts. There’s evidence to suggest that all three are better suited for relief roles.
At the same time, they each have the potential to have their stuff play up in the bullpen while retaining the ability to offer multiple innings, perhaps serving as a bridge from a five-inning starter to Jansen. Or Martin and Jansen.
That trio can eat up a lot of innings, which is almost a prerequisite for successful teams in the modern game. Last year, 13 teams got 600 or more innings from their relievers and four of those teams qualified for the postseason, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won 100 games.
Then there’s the long list of other bullpen candidates, some of whom are interchangeable. In September, Cora spoke of the need to have a host of hard-throwers who have options remaining, enabling the Sox to swap out relievers depending on performance. Not doing the job? It’s back to Worcester to fine-tune things while someone else is auditioned with the parent club.
The Red Sox can choose from among the following: Isaiah Campbell (acquired from Seattle for Luis Urias); Cooper Criswell (signed as a free agent from Tampa Bay); Zack Kelly; Mauricio Llovera; Bryan Mata; Justin Slaten (acquired in a trade with Mets after Rule 5 draft); and Greg Weissert) part of the return from the Yankees in exchange for Alex Verdugo.
Everyone listed above with the exception of Mata (out of options) and Slaten (who must be kept on the roster as a Rule 5 pick) has remaining options, enabling them to be part of the Boston-Worcester shuttle.
Deep and flexible, with some potential versatility — Houck, Crawford and Whitlock can all be stretched out to provide spot starts if necessary — the potential exists for the Red Sox’’s bullpen to be among the best in the American League.
The team will likely add another established lefty to the mix to further complicate things and intensify the competition. But more and more, it appears as though Cora’s wish for a deeper, harder-throwing group of relievers is about to come to fruition.
EXTRA INNINGS
1) Baseball has found that there’s an appetite for more prospect news and exposure, since fan polling has shown that to be an area where fans are eager to learn more. Accordingly, MLB will introduce its “Spring Breakout” initiative next March, where two organizations will pit their top prospects against one another in an exhibition game. In the Red Sox’s case, a group of their top prospects will play a game against the best prospects from the Atlanta Braves’ system on March 16 at jetBlue Park in Fort Myers. It’s a start but because the games are played in Florida and Arizona, exposure will be somewhat limited. How about doing something similar during the regular season? Most minor leagues are now off Monday; hold a prospect game prior to the start of the major league team playing on Monday night and offer fans a double-header.
2) Shohei Ohtani had more leverage than any other free agent ever, and wasn’t afraid to use it. That’s his right, and it would seem that every finalist for him was willing to acquiesce to his demands, including the deferrals and contract structure. But when players start negotiating the right to void their deals — or more accurately, opt-out — if any changes are made to the management or ownership of a club, that seems like a slippery slope for a lot of teams. By giving players a say in how a team is run, they’re setting a dangerous precedent
3) It’s always fascinating to see how teams deal with acquiring players headed for free agency. The Los Angeles Dodgers, fresh off their landmark deal for Ohtani, traded for Tyler Glasnow, but made the deal contingent on getting Glasnow to agree to a contract extension. Meanwhile, the Yankees acquired Juan Soto, also heading into his final year of control, but expressed little immediate concern about extending Soto. Admittedly, the fact that he’s represented by agent Scott Boras makes getting an extension done more problematic, with Boras preferring to have his players go to the open market to maximize their value. Either way, there was some risk-taking, something the Red Sox have sworn off, having made it known that they’re out on dealing for players nearing free agency (including Dylan Cease, Shane Bieber, Corbin Burnes). For a team desperate for front-line pitching, the Sox effectively eliminated one path that may have yielded some.
