New chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has lots of work to do, and coming off a 3rd last-place end in 4 years the Red Sox are taking a look at a busy offseason.
That being mentioned, Breslow isn’t precisely inheriting an entire tear-down both.
As disappointing as this previous season was, the membership’s rising core of gifted younger gamers collectively took a giant step ahead. Between these standouts and the influence gamers who stay below contract, the Red Sox might solely be a handful of massive strikes away from reasserting themselves as playoff contenders.
Even with a lot of the roster locked in, there are nonetheless quite a few key gamers whose futures stay unsure.
So who’s prone to return? Who does the membership must decide on? Who do Red Sox followers must observe because the offseason ramps up within the coming weeks? Here’s an entire breakdown of the roster, together with these below contract, those that are both free brokers or arbitration-eligible, and the way the items ought to all match collectively.
Contract figures listed are courtesy of Spotrac and media studies and mirror the deal’s remaining size and worth. Arbitration figures are primarily based on MLB Trade Rumors’ estimates, and free agent figures are primarily based on the participant’s most up-to-date contract.
Under contract
Rafael Devers (10 years, $313.5 million), Trevor Story (4, $95m), Masataka Yoshida (4, $74.4m), Chris Sale (1, $27.5m), Garrett Whitlock (3, $16.5m), Kenley Jansen (1, $16m), Chris Martin (1, $7.5m), Rob Refsnyder (1, $1.85m)
The Red Sox at the moment have eight gamers below contract for 2024 and past, and subsequent season they are going to collectively earn roughly $126.77 million. Three of these gamers are signed with Boston for no less than 4 years, most notably Rafael Devers, whose 10-year, $313.5 million contract extension is about to formally start.
Boston additionally has two of its different high hitters — Trevor Story and Masataka Yoshida — locked up long run, and high relievers Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin aren’t going wherever both. Chris Sale is now coming into the ultimate 12 months of his five-year extension, and although he’s battled accidents all through that contract he’s at the moment wholesome and for now ought to slot into subsequent season’s beginning rotation.
The different two with a modicum of certainty are Garrett Whitlock and Rob Refsnyder. Whitlock agreed to an early extension in April 2022 that would maintain him in Boston by 2028 if the Red Sox finally train a pair of future membership choices, and the group has expressed hope they will attain related offers with different younger standouts like Triston Casas and Brayan Bello sooner or later.
As for Refsnyder, he’ll retain his present function as a lefty-killer off the bench.
Free brokers
Justin Turner (2 years, $21.7 million, participant possibility declined), Corey Kluber (1, $10m, membership possibility declined), Adam Duvall (1, $7m), James Paxton (1, $4m), Adalberto Mondesi (1, $3.045m)
Unlike final winter the Red Sox do not need any free brokers whose departure would trigger widespread angst throughout New England. This time final 12 months Red Sox followers have been sweating over the looming (and eventual) departures of Xander Bogaerts and Nathan Eovaldi, however the membership has already ensured historical past received’t repeat itself, locking up Devers to his huge extension final December to keep away from one other 12 months’s price of drama and unhealthy vibes.
That being mentioned, the membership does have one urgent determination to make.
Justin Turner declined his $13.4 million participant possibility for 2024 on Friday, making the veteran designated hitter Boston’s most fascinating free agent. The soon-to-be 39-year-old will obtain a $6.7 million buyout, which means he’ll solely want a one-year, $6.7 million deal to make up the cash he would’ve made by exercising his possibility. After hitting 23 residence runs with 96 RBI final season, he’ll recoup that cash simply.
Whether he’ll return to Boston is one other matter. Turner rapidly turned a beloved determine within the clubhouse and throughout the group and clearly nonetheless has loads of gasoline within the tank, however his presence because the on a regular basis DH additionally pressured the Red Sox to play inferior defensive gamers within the area frequently. If Turner indicators elsewhere, the membership might play Yoshida at DH extra typically and provides Devers and Casas extra days off their toes, which might each enhance the group defensively and permit all three to maintain their legs recent deep into the season.
Turner’s future with the Red Sox is an actual query that Breslow must work out, however the different free brokers are way more minimize and dry.
Adam Duvall had a productive but injury-plagued season, however after a summer time looking for common taking part in time for 4 starting-caliber outfielders the Red Sox appear prone to consolidate at that place, and letting Duvall stroll could be the best manner to do this. James Paxton is in an identical boat. He was briefly and unexpectedly amongst Boston’s finest beginning pitchers this previous spring however ran out of gasoline within the second half and doesn’t match the profile of “reliable innings-eater” the rotation wants.
As for Adalberto Mondesi, resulting from lingering points together with his ACL rehab, he by no means performed a recreation in Boston after being acquired for oft-injured reliever Josh Taylor. If the Red Sox do deliver him again, it’ll be on a minor league deal.
Corey Kluber is unlikely to return after the Red Sox declined his $11 million membership possibility. The 37-year-old endured a disappointing season and posted a 7.04 ERA in 15 appearances after initially slotting in because the membership’s opening day starter. As of this writing the Red Sox haven’t introduced a call on left-handed reliever Joely Rodriguez’s $4.25 million membership possibility, although after accidents restricted him to only 10 appearances it appears unlikely the Red Sox will decide that possibility up.
Arbitration
Alex Verdugo ($9.2 million), Nick Pivetta ($6.9m), Luis Urias ($4.7m), Reese McGuire ($1.7m), John Schreiber ($1.3m)
Under MLB’s financial system, gamers with no less than three years however fewer than six years of service time are eligible for wage arbitration in the event that they haven’t already agreed to a long-term contract with their membership. Those gamers negotiate their wage for the upcoming season with their membership, and if the 2 sides can’t agree then every will submit a determine to a panel of arbitrators, who will decide one or the opposite (and nothing in between) to find out the participant’s wage.
This 12 months the Red Sox have 5 arbitration-eligible gamers, most notably Alex Verdugo, who is because of grow to be a free agent after subsequent season. In addition to their arbitration negotiations, the Red Sox are additionally anticipated to debate a long-term extension with Verdugo, and if these talks break down then the outfielder might in the end be traded.
The different title to look at right here is Urias, whose projected wage seemingly exceeds what the Red Sox could be prepared to pay him. That makes him Boston’s high candidate to be non-tendered, which implies the membership might decline to supply him a contract, making him a free agent.
The Red Sox have typically been good at reaching offers with their arbitration-eligible gamers and avoiding probably contentious hearings, so anticipate Pivetta, McGuire and Schreiber to all be again subsequent season with out a lot of a fuss.
Pre-Arb/Team Control
Notable pitchers: Brayan Bello, Brennan Bernardino, Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck, Zack Kelly, Mauricio Llovera, Chris Murphy, Josh Winckowski; Notable place gamers: Wilyer Abreu, Triston Casas, Bobby Dalbec, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Pablo Reyes, Enmanuel Valdez, Connor Wong
This record is just not complete, there are a few dozen different pre-arb gamers with fewer than three years of service time who spent most of this previous season in Triple-A or venture as minor leaguers to start out 2024 as effectively, however from a financial perspective this group will barely transfer the needle with regards to Boston’s whole payroll.
Considering among the names on this record, that’s nice information for the Red Sox.
Brayan Bello was with out query Boston’s high beginning pitcher final season, and Triston Casas, Jarren Duran and Connor Wong have been three of the membership’s most impactful place gamers. The reality they value Boston virtually nothing offers the membership an enormous benefit and can release assets for Breslow to exit and deal with the membership’s holes by trades and free company over the remainder of this winter.
Takeaways
Unlike final winter, which noticed super roster turnover and a number of other high-profile departures, the core of subsequent 12 months’s group is already in place.
The Red Sox are set at catcher with Wong and McGuire plus high prospect Kyle Teel on his manner up by the minors, and the infield is generally set in stone too. Devers would be the beginning third baseman, Story the shortstop and Casas the primary baseman, leaving solely second as an space of concern. The membership might roll with Pablo Reyes and rookie Enmanuel Valdez till high prospect Marcelo Mayer is prepared for his MLB debut, or the Red Sox might search a one-year veteran stopgap to shore up the place, with Toronto’s Whit Merrifield probably a perfect match.
The outfield is extra in flux, however for now there are extra our bodies than the Red Sox have room for. Barring a commerce or another sudden improvement, the membership might stand pat and enter subsequent season with the group of Yoshida, Duran and Verdugo, plus rookies Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela as inner alternate options.
Even the pitching employees isn’t too removed from the place it must be. The bullpen is in nice arms with Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin again to guide the cost, and John Schreiber, Brennan Bernardino, Josh Winckowski and others ought to guarantee there’s loads of depth to cowl innings behind them.
The bother, as everybody is aware of, is the beginning rotation. With no assist coming by the farm system, the Red Sox want to usher in a number of confirmed beginning pitchers to assist help Bello, Sale and whoever emerges from the group of Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck and Whitlock.
Those high-end arms, plus a right-handed bat and perhaps one other left-handed reliever, ought to be on the high of Breslow’s want record.
Source: www.bostonherald.com