The Boston Red Sox need to add to the starting rotation.
Oct 12, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Matthew Boyd (16) celebrates a strike out in the second inning against the Detroit Tigers during game five of the ALDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images David Richard-Imagn Images
This is a statement that you are going to see a lot and isn’t going away.
Boston currently is in a much better position than it was a year ago, though. The Red Sox have fewer questions in the starting rotation. Tanner Houck took a massive step forward and was an All-Star. Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford had inconsistent 2024 campaigns, but there was more good than bad. Lucas Giolito is widely expected to play a prominent role with the team in 2025 after missing the 2024 season due to injury.
The Red Sox now need just one more hurler. Boston needs to add a left-handed starter, and there will be a few options out there. There will be options like Blake Snell and Max Fried out there. Either would be fantastic, but cost a whole lot.
There will be cheap options out there, as well. One player who was floated as a fit for Boston is Cleveland Guardians starter Matthew Boyd by The Athletic’s Jim Bowden on a predicted one-year, $10 million deal.
“Matthew Boyd really increased his value in the postseason as he logged a 0.77 ERA over three starts (11 2/3 innings),” Bowden said. “With a deceptive delivery and an arsenal that includes a fastball, changeup, and slider, Boyd commands the strike zone well, adding and subtracting with unique shapes and sizes. He underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2023 but now looks healthy with a good mindset. Best team fits: (Cleveland Guardians), Tigers, (Baltimore Orioles), (San Diego Padres), (Atlanta Braves), Red Sox…Contract prediction: 1 year, $10 million”
Boyd is 33 years old and had a 2.72 ERA in eight starts in the regular season. That isn’t a large sample size, but if the Red Sox were to miss out on Fried or Snell, maybe a deal makes sense.
