Jake Odorizzi
Jake Odorizzi is another pitcher that has the Red Sox’s interest. Like Kluber, Odorizzi is coming off an injury-ridden season and has lower value than he should.
Odorizzi, who will be 31 by the start of the season, was an All-Star for the Minnesota Twins in 2019, when he went 15-7 with a 3.51 ERA through 30 starts, striking out 178 batters over 159.0 innings.
His career ERA is fairly high, being a 3.92. Over nine seasons with the Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, and Twins, he is 62-56 over 195 games, striking out 995 batter over 1,042.1 innings.
Chaim Bloom, the General Manager of the Boston Red Sox, has connections with Odorizzi because Bloom was one of the executives that acquired Odorizzi.
This would be more of a depth move than a higher-potential move. Odorizzi would be behind Sale and probably be behind Rodriguez in the rotation as well.
The Red Sox are going to want sign Kluber over Odorizzi, but he would be a solid backup if Kluber sign to go elsewhere. It is most likely that the mid-tier of pitchers is going to wait for Kluber to sign first before signing, which puts the Red Sox in an interesting situation.