MLB Rumors: 3 pitchers Red Sox can’t miss on after trading Chris Sale
The Boston Red Sox pulled off a stunner, trading Chris Sale (and paying $17.5 million of his contract) to the Braves in exchange for infield prospect Vaughn Grissom. The deal comes as a big surprise but makes sense for both sides.
The Braves get Chris Sale who when at his best, can win a Cy Young. The problem with Sale is he hasn't been close to his best since 2018. While injuries are a huge concern, the Braves simply need Sale to be healthy for the playoffs and be a good enough third or fourth starter as the Braves try and win the World Series.
The Red Sox hope Grissom is their future at second base. He's a player who has had chances with Atlanta each of the last two seasons and has done fairly well with the bat, but his glove has held him back. With the Braves completely stacked position player-wise, they had no room for Grissom and thus traded him for a position of need. While Grissom is a great add for Boston, they lose one of their best starting pitchers in the process.
Starting pitching was already a need with Chris Sale expected to play a role even after the Lucas Giolito signing. With Sale on the move, starting pitching becomes that much more important for Boston to acquire. They cannot miss acquiring one of these starting pitchers to fortify what is still a subpar rotation.
3. The Red Sox can't miss on signing Jordan Montgomery after trading Chris Sale
According to MassLive's Sean McAdam, Jordan Montgomery was going to be "too expensive for the Red Sox’s current budget plans". That's a major issue for a Red Sox team in desperate need of top-end starting pitching. This report came out after Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed his record-breaking deal with the Dodgers.
Money simply can't be an excuse for the Red Sox. First of all, they're the Red Sox. They can more than afford to pay anyone they want at any given time. Second, the Sale trade opens up some money for them to spend on Montgomery. They didn't trade the entire contract, but saved roughly $10 million to add to their budget. Rather than spending that on a lesser player (or even worse, pocketing the money), the Red Sox can splurge and sign the player they desperately need.
Montgomery is reportedly living in the Boston area this offseason and it'd be the biggest slap in the face to the Yankees who are reportedly looking to bring him back. He might not be a surefire ace, but he certainly pitched like one this past season for Texas, helping them not only make the playoffs, but win the World Series.
The contract will be hefty, but again, they saved money with this trade. There's no excuse to not go hard after Montgomery.