Red Sox Rumors: Boston Eying Paul Maholm
By Editorial Staff
Even after signing veteran starting pitcher Aaron Cook to a minor league deal, the Boston Red Sox could still be in the market for another inexpensive, back-of-the-rotation arm. Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington has said he’d like to add pitchers to compete for the final two spots in Boston’s rotation. Though they’ve added Cook and Carlos Silva, the Red Sox continue to be tied to another veteran starter, Paul Maholm.
The Red Sox entered the offseason knowing they would have to get creative in order to revamp a roster that barely missed out on the playoffs in 2011. So far, Cherington and the Sox have wheeled and dealed to sure up the back end of their bullpen and also figure to have slugger David Ortiz back in the fold for next season.
But, one area remains questionable; the Red Sox starting rotation.
Beyond their starting three of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, the Red Sox have very little in the way of dependable starters. For this reason Cherington has said it’s his goal to add inexpensive pitchers this winter, hoping to bring a glut of arms to camp and have the last two standing enter the season as his 4th and 5th starters.
The Red Sox have already added Cook and Silva, both to minor league deals, and Peter Gammons of MLB.com notes that Cherington is hoping that one of the two can become this year’s Freddy Garcia.
While Silva and Cook are a nice start, reports have the Red Sox continually tied to free agent starting pitcher Paul Maholm. The right-hander is another arm that could be had for an inexpensive, incentive-laden deal.
Before requiring surgery last season, Maholm pitched well for the Pirates, posting an ERA and WHIP of 3.66 and 1.294 over his 162 1/3 innings of work. Nick Carfado of the Boston Globe reports that the 29-year-old is another candidate that could eventually join the competition to complete the Red Sox rotation.
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