The Boston Red Sox have been linked to almost every starting pitcher at one point or another this offseason, such as Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shota Imanaga, and many others, but they don’t seem to want to spend the big money. There are some other intriguing names available that the Red Sox should consider that may not cost a big contract and could contribute to the rotation, especially with the help of new pitching coach Andrew Bailey and Chief of Baseball Operations Craig Breslow, who both had success working with pitching where they were before. Names such as Alex Wood, Brandon Woodruff, and Hyun Jin Ryu, let’s take a look at the three.
Three Under the Rader Starting Pitchers
Alex Wood
Wood worked with Bailey when they were both with the San Francisco Giants. Last season, he appeared in 29 games, with 12 coming as starts. He went 5-5 with a 4.33 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 97.2 innings. Over his 11-year career, he has pitched for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, and the Giants. He appeared in 269 games, with 202 of those as starts, going 76-65 with a 3.74 ERA, a 3.61 FIP, a 1.24 WHIP, a 0.9 HR/9, a 2.6 BB/9, and an 8.4 K/9; he was an All-Star in 2017. He could be someone worth looking at for a Red Sox rotation that doesn’t have a LHP. Against the AL East in his career, he has appeared in eight games with three as starts going 1-1 with a 2.10 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, and an 8.1 K/9.
Brandon Woodruff
Woodruff would be a great fit for the Red Sox despite being unable to pitch in 2024. It could be a situation like James Paxton’s: sign him to a three-year deal, let him rehab for 2024, and then you have a solid pitcher for two more seasons. Last year in Milwaukee, he made 11 starts, going 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 67 innings. In his career, he has appeared in 130 games and started 115 of those, going 46-26 with a 3.10 ERA, a 3.19 FIP, a 1.04 WHIP, a 1.0 HR/9, a 2.3 BB/9, and a 10.4 K/9; he was an All-Star in 2019 and 2021 and finished fifth in Cy Young voting in 2021 as well. When healthy, Woodruff is one of the best pitchers in baseball and would be something the Red Sox could have as a key piece with Brayan Bello when the young kids come up. Against the AL East teams, he is 3-0 in four starts with a 1.71 ERA, a 0.80 WHIP, and a 10.6 K/9.
Hyun Jin Ryu
Ryu missed most of last season rehabbing from Tommy John, but when he returned, he made 11 starts, going 3-3 with a 3.46 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 52 innings. In his career, he has pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays, making 186 appearances with 185 of those as starts going 78-48 with a 3.27 ERA, a 3.53 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, a 1.0 HR/9, a 2.0 BB/9, and an 8.0 K/9; he was an All-Star in 2019 with the Dodgers and finished in top three in Cy Young voting in 2019 and 2020. He pitched in the AL East, but against all of the other teams, he has made 28 starts, going 9-6 with a 4.49 ERA, a 1.39 ERA, and an 8.0 K/9.
Wrap Up
I’d really like the idea of signing Woodruff and one of the left handers, it’s expected that if Giolito pitches well he will use the option and look for more money next season, having Woodruff fully healthy if that happens is a step in the right direction for the pitching staff. The one thing the Red Sox need is a lefty, and if they don’t want to spend on Montgomery or Snell, then why not someone Bailey knows, like Wood or someone who pitched in the AL East and can perform in Ryu, at the end of the day they need to do something with the rotation, it can’t be just adding Giolito and trading Sale that won’t cut it for 2024 even if they are waiting for Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and Kyle Teel to come up before really going “Full Throttle.”
