The Boston Red Sox have been on the hunt for additional starting pitching for most of the offseason. It’s been speculated that the Red Sox have targeted elite arms through trade and free agency, as well some of the less expensive back-of-the-rotation guys available. Yesterday, Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington shed light on his team’s pitching search, telling Nick Carfado of the Boston Globe that his club is seeking multiple “low-cost” starters to compete for the final two spots in Boston’s rotation.
While the Red Sox entered the offseason with multiple questions surrounding their pitching staff, Cherington has spent most of his time revamping Boston’s bullpen. Having swung deals for Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon, the Red Sox now have the back end of their ‘pen set.
These moves also allow the Red Sox to have former relievers Daniel Bard and Alfredo Aceves enter the spring as starters. This, along with their top three of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz as well as other options Andrew Miller and Felix Doubront, had Cherington originally stating that he felt no pressure to add another big-name pitcher through free agency or trade.
It appears Cherington and the Red Sox will stick to this mindset, as the GM is now looking for a few “low-cost” arms to compete for a spot in the back of Boston’s rotation. This likely takes the Red Sox out of the hunt for some of the more expensive free agent pitchers such as Hiroki Kuroda, Edwin Jackson and Joe Saunders.
One option remaining for the Red Sox is former Pirates starter Paul Maholm. Ken Rosenthal reported yesterday that the Red Sox are among the teams interested in Maholm, along with the Cubs, Mariners and Orioles.
For more on the Red Sox, be sure to check out BoSox Injection
You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.
Tags: Alfredo Aceves, Andrew Bailey, Andrew Miller, Boston Red Sox, Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, Edwin Jackson, Felix Doubront, Hiroki Kuroda, Joe Saunders, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Mark Melancon, Paul Maholm
Blaine joined the crew in April of 2011. He covers current news and notes from around the baseball world for Call to the Pen.
You can reach Blaine at 
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