The Boston Red Sox will host their Winter Weekend next weekend, and ownership will not be attending, which is a bad look after they said they were “Full Throttle” this offseason. So far, they have added Tyler O’Neill, Vaughn Grissom, Lucas Giolito, Cooper Criswell, and prospects while trading away Chris Sale, Luis Urias, and Alex Verdugo. Not exactly a “Full Throttle” offseason, and as usual, they are interested or linked to every available free agent but seem to never end up with that player. With the addition of Grissom, who is young and under contract for six seasons, could that make Nick Yorke and/or Marcelo Mayer expendable to trade for a top-of-the-line pitcher? So why is it not being done? Here are three names the Red Sox should add, and it could make this offseason a “Full Throttle.”
Jorge Soler
The Red Sox need a bat to protect their lineup like JD Martinez did a few seasons ago and Justin Turner did last season. Soler would be the perfect fit, and he’d be a lot of fun to watch crushing balls over the Green Monster and provide an electric factor to the team. Last season with the Marlins, he slashed .250/.341/.512 with a .853 OPS; he had 24 doubles, 36 home runs, 75 RBI, 77 runs scored, one stolen base, 66 walks, and 126 wRC+. In his career, he has a slash line of .243/.330/.467 with a .797 OPS; he has 163 doubles, three triples, 170 home runs, 452 RBI, 416 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, 365 walks, and 112 wRC+.
Jordan Montgomery
The way things are going, it seems the Red Sox are trying to do as they’ve done in the past with JD Martinez and Trevor Story, which is let all the teams who were interested in said player go out and add different players then when it comes down to just them they get their guy which in this case might be Montgomery with the Yankees adding Marcus Stroman last night. Montgomery, in the previous season, made 32 starts between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers, going 10-11 with a 3.20 ERA, a 3.56 FIP, a 1.19 WHIP, a 0.9 HR/9, a 2.3 BB/9, and a 7.9 K/9. He has made 141 appearances and 140 starts for his career, going 38-34 with a 3.68 ERA, a 3.75 FIP, a 1.20 WHIP, a 1.1 HR/9, a 2.5 BB/9, and an 8.4 K/9.
Jesus Luzardo
Luzardo would be a nice young, controllable piece under contract until 2027, and the cost may seem steep, but the only prospects who should be untouchable are Kyle Teel and Roman Anthony. Luzardo will start the season at 26 years old, and over the last two seasons, he has pitched over 100 innings. Last season, he made 32 starts, going 10-10 with a 3.58 ERA, a 3.55 FIP, a 1.21 WHIP, a 1.1 HR/9, a 2.8 BB/9, and a 10.5 K/9. For his career, he has made 93 appearances with 77 as starts going 23-28 with a 4.18 ERA, a 3.93 FIP, a 1.25 WHIP, a 1.3 HR/9, a 3.2 BB/9, and a 10.1 K/9.
Bottom Line: Red Sox Outlook with the additions.
The opening-day rotation would be
- LHP – Jesus Luzardo
- RHP – Brayan Bello
- LHP – Jordan Montgomery
- RHP – Lucas Giolito
- RHP – Kutter Crawford
That rotation would provide some excitement and, if healthy, would give innings. That also gives you the option of putting Tanner Houck, Nick Pivetta, and Garrett Whitlock in the bullpen, and if an injury occurs, Pivetta could move back to the rotation. The Red Sox have also talked about moving Kenley Jansen; if they do, Houck could be the closer. The lineup with the addition of Soler might look something like this.
- CF – Jarren Duran
- 3B – Rafael Devers
- LF/DH – Jorge Soler
- 1B – Triston Casas
- DH/LF – Masataka Yoshida
- SS – Trevor Story
- RF – Tyler O’Neill/ Wilyer Abreu
- 2B – Vaughn Grissom
- C – Connor Wong
That lineup would provide some serious pop as Casas looks primed for a breakout year, Story seems healthy, Duran should continue his success, and Soler’s power with Devers. The moves above would solidly “Full Throttle,” they could even make it back to the postseason for the first time since 2021 when they went as far as the ALCS; if not for Laz Diaz, they would have been in the World Series.
