Rumor: Shane Bieber to the Red Sox?

The 2023 offseason has started for 22 teams, which means rumor season comes with that. The free agency and trade period doesn’t begin until five days after the World Series concludes so you expect to hear a lot of things; for instance, multiple reports have said the favorites to land Shohei Ohtani are the Boston Red Sox, which Ohtani is the biggest name on the free agent market despite him not being able to pitch in 2024. Another one thrown out is Shane Bieber to Boston for Alex Verdugo and Wilyer Abreu. It was mentioned all season that Verdugo was expected to be traded in the offseason, and it’s no secret the Red Sox need starting pitching as they ranked 22nd in all of baseball in ERA, 20th in FIP, 22nd in WAR, and 17th in WHIP. So, let’s look at each player’s numbers from 2023.

Shane Bieber

Bieber, in 2023, made 21 starts, going 6-6 with a 3.80 ERA; he posted a 3.87 FIP, a 1.23 WHIP, a 1.0 HR/9, a 2.4 BB/9, a 7.5 K/9, and was a 1.8 WAR. The Bieber, the Red Sox, would be hoping to acquire is the pitcher he was in 2020 when he won the American League, Cy Young, making 12 starts in the shortened season; he went 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA, a 2.07 FIP, a 0.86 WHIP, a 0.8 HR/9, a 2.4 BB/9, a 14.2 K/9 and was a 3.2 WAR. Overall in his career, he has combined to make 134 appearances and 132 starts, going 60-32 with a 3.27 ERA, a 3.13 FIP, a 1.11 WHIP, a 1.0 HR/9, a 2.0 BB/9, a 10.2 K/9, and a career 17.0 WAR. That is the kind of pitcher the Red Sox need in their rotation.

Alex Verdugo

Verdugo was acquired in the Mookie Betts trade, and his best season was in 2020 with the Red Sox when he slashed .308/.367/.478 with a .844 OPS; he had 16 doubles, six home runs, 15 RBI, 36 runs, four stolen bases, 17 walks, and was a 2.1 WAR. In 2023, for the Red Sox, he played in 142 games and slashed .264/.324/.421 with a .745 OPS; he had 37 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs, 54 RBI, 81 runs scored, five stolen bases, 45 walks, and a 2.6 WAR. In his career, Verdugo’s slash line is .281/.337/.428 with a .765 OPS; he has 152 doubles, ten triples, 57 home runs, 255 RBI, 335 runs scored, 20 stolen bases, 191 walks, and an 11.1 WAR.

Wilyer Abreu

Abreu was acquired by the Red Sox from the Houston Astros in the Christian Vazquez trade. This season, he made his MLB debut against the Astros, and he had a slash line of .316/.388/.474 with a .862 OPS; he had six doubles, two home runs, 14 RBI, ten runs scored, three stolen bases, nine walks, and a 0.7 WAR. In Triple-A this season, where he was named an All-Star, he posted a slash line of .274/.391/.538 with a .930 OPS; he had 11 doubles, one triple, 22 home runs, 65 RBI, 67 runs scored, eight stolen bases, and 59 walks.

Bottom Line:

There is some decent pitching available this year despite Ohtani not being able to pitch with names like former Red Sox Eduardo Rodriguez, Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray, Blake Snell, and Jordan Montgomery. So, with all that being said, Red Sox Nation, would you do the trade and get a pitcher of Bieber’s quality?