The Boston Red Sox have spent much of the offseason watching other organizations invest in their franchise with marquee free agent and trade acquisitions.
Meanwhile, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow -- who has been handicapped by principal owner John Henry and his unnecessary budgetary restraints -- has mostly remained involved in mid-level trades.
The one moderate free-agent investment he made immediately came back to haunt him, as right-hander Lucas Giolito is expected to undergo season-ending elbow surgery.
With Giolito down, the Red Sox are in desperate need of aid and could turn to some external options to bolster the pitching staff. There are some surprisingly talented hurlers available for this time of year and speculation that Boston could make a move.
"I do think that this opens them up for maybe a veteran on a short-term deal if Mike Clevinger or Michael Lorenzen is willing to sign for cheap," MassLive's Chris Cotillo said on the "Fenway Rundown" podcast on Friday. "So far that has not hasn't been the case, that hasn't happened but it is also March 8th."
Jordan Montgomery remains the clear-cut most-logical addition for the team's long-term outlook but Boston has not operated logically since the 2018-championship core dismantled.
It still makes sense for the Red Sox to load up for 2025 while making the 2024 product somewhat acceptable to watch but if Henry didn't think the roster was good enough to invest in before, Giolito's injury will not help.
Montgomery has to sign somewhere and the Texas Rangers reportedly are out -- but that pursuit is almost a different topic as he's not just a filler to round out the current rotation.
Lorenzen and Clevinger fit the bill much better. The former was an All-Star last season but fell apart toward the end of year and tanked his numbers -- though a 4.18 ERA is nothing to scoff at. The latter is a much more proven commodity, posting a 3.77 ERA in 2023 and a career 3.45 ERA across seven seasons.
Players of this caliber are not typically on the board this late, and will likely come at a significant discount than if they hit the market in years past.
Boston would be wise to not only take advantage of a deal but also allow one of either Garrett Whitlock or Tanner Houck to move back into the bullpen -- where they both belong.
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