Red Sox missed on big free agent for reasons beyond their control
By Rylie Smith
The Boston Red Sox have yet to make any major free agency signings this offseason, and they reportedly missed out on Andrew Heaney.
The Red Sox have made several mistakes this year, but surprisingly enough, missing out on signing Andrew Heaney wasn’t one of them. According to Chris Cotillo, the Red Sox made Heaney a nice offer worth roughly $30 million, but he turned it down for a two-year deal with the Texas Rangers worth $25 million because of his personal relationship with Chris Young.
Boston deserves credit for trying. While it’s unfortunate they didn’t land him, it was out of their control and they certainly didn’t lowball him. The offer, however, also shows that they’re trying to invest in some more pitchers, which is highly important considering their rotation and bullpen were major points of concern over the 2022 season.
It’ll be difficult for the Red Sox to improve in that area as the stars are quickly being taken off the market, but they should definitely still try to sign one before it’s too late.
The Red Sox should focus on signing pitchers this offseason
The 2022 Red Sox were a complete mess and they could improve in all areas, but their rotation and bullpen typically showed the worst problems. The bullpen had a meltdown nearly every game, and the rotation was often hit-or-miss, never knowing what to expect.
Among all teams in the league, Boston held the sixth-worst ERA (4.53), opponent batting average (.256) and WHIP (1.35). Their lineup was much better with the third-best batting average (.258), sixth-best on-base percentage (.321), ninth-best slugging percentage (.409) and ninth-best OPS (.731).
Their defense was roughly average and definitely needs improvement, but their most urgent need for improvement is in the rotation and bullpen. There are quite a few pitchers on the market, and while it’s too late to land the top stars, the Red Sox could still possibly manage to get a few that’ll enhance the roster.
They may have missed out on Heaney for things out of their control, but they’re a wealthy team that can likely land someone just as effective.
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