The Boston Red Sox have 10 players set to hit the market when the World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers concludes in the next week or so.
At that point, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and his team will have to decide what to do about all those pending free agents, including relief pitcher Lucas Sims.
Boston acquired the right-handed reliever from the Cincinnati Reds at the trade deadline for pitching prospect Ovis Portes.
Before the trade, Sims had posted a 3.57 ERA and a 1.415 WHIP while striking out 10.2 batters per nine innings in 43 outings (35 1/3 innings). After the trade, he recorded a 6.43 ERA and a 1.500 WHIP while striking out 5.8 batters per nine innings in 11 appearances (14 innings).
The 30-year-old also spent time on the injured list with Boston due to a right lat strain.
Now, Sims is becoming a free agent for the first time in his career. What should the Red Sox do?
Breslow will need to completely retool his bullpen this offseason with Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin and Luis Garcia also hitting the market.
According to Spotrac, Sims is expected to receive a four-year deal worth $3.9 million annually.
If Breslow and pitching coach Andrew Bailey believe Sims would benefit from a full offseason in their program, that price isn't a terrible deal, but there are plenty of other options that they can look at. And, most of those other options (outside of Garcia) didn't just have a horrendous stint with the Red Sox in the last few months.
Breslow may want to completely move on from the reminder of a failed trade deadline (outside of Quinn Priester, who could make the rotation out of Spring Training), and that would be understandable.
