Boston Red Sox: Three offseason free agent targets
By Nick Stevens
The Boston Red Sox need a revamped bullpen, including a reliable closer.
The Boston Red Sox need to desperately upgrade their bullpen. This unit logged more innings than any other bullpen in the majors this season, recording 278 innings pitched and finishing with a combined -0.6 Wins Above Replacement, the fourth-worst mark in the major leagues.
The Matt Barnes as a closer experiment didn’t end up going very well as the 30-year-old posted a 4.30 ERA and walked a career-high 13.7% of hitters he faced. For the first time since 2015, Barnes was a negative WAR pitcher and gave up a career-high 1.57 HR/9 IP.
How do the Red Sox shore up the backend of their bullpen? Sign Brad Hand.
The Cleveland Indians have decided to be one of the cheapest teams in baseball this offseason, starting with not picking up Hand’s $10 million option for 2021.
Cleveland’s loss may be Boston’s gain. Hand, a finalist for AL Reliever of the Year honors, is coming off a fantastic 2020 campaign where he saved a league-high 16 games and recorded a career-low 2.05 ERA and 4.7% walk rate with a dominant 33.7% strikeout rate. Best of all, he didn’t allow a single home run in 22 innings.
It seemed as if Hand was beginning his decline back in 2018 just before the San Diego Padres shipped him off to Cleveland in exchange for catcher Francisco Mejia, but Hand proceeded to make an All-Star appearance in 2019 and go 8-6 with a 2.78 ERA, 58 saves, and a 13.0 K/9 IP rate in two-plus seasons with the Indians.
MLBTradeRumors.com is projecting a two-year/$14 million deal for Hand (with the Astros), which is a team-friendly price tag for one of the more dominant closers in the game. If the Red Sox want to spend the money elsewhere and look at a cheaper option, keep an eye on Kirby Yates who will be a low-cost/high-upside option.