Boston Red Sox Offseason To-Do List
By Jason Burke
No Closers Needed
With Craig Kimbrel already in tow, there is no real need for the Boston Red Sox to go after one of the big names in the relief market–Aroldis Chapman, Mark Melancon or Kenley Jansen–this winter. It’s doubtful that any of these three would sign on to be Kimbrel’s setup man, although the show that the Cleveland Indians have been putting on with Andrew Miller may change some minds if the money is right.
Jansen would be the most likely to sign on to the idea, operating as an eighth inning guy that can swallow up some outs in the seventh as well, but the money would have to be right. The Los Angeles Dodgers will have to end up with one of these three by the time next season is underway if they hope to compete, and they likely have their sights set on bringing back Jansen.
So on with the search.
The two relievers that could be worth brining back are Uehara or Ziegler, since both players ranked in the Sox top four in reliever’s WAR in 2016 with Kimbrel and Robbie Ross being the other two.
If the Sox look to go in another direction, Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo could be nice options with experience, although if Casilla struggles like he did in San Francisco he’ll be eaten alive by the Fenway Faithful.
Other options include LHP Jerry Blevins (11.14 K/9, 2.79 ERA), LHP Boone Logan (11.07, 3.23 FIP) and a buy-low candidate in Drew Storen, whose FIP was a run lower than his 5.23 ERA. Each of these three should be available on short-term deals with little financial implication.