Boston Red Sox rumors: Garrett Richards would make a solid addition

It appears that the Boston Red Sox have finally awoken from their winter slumber. After signing infielder Enrique Hernandez to a two-year deal, the Red Sox are now reportedly progressing towards a deal with free agent starting pitcher Garrett Richards.

Per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo, the Boston Red Sox are doing a little more than just “checking in” on Richards, with talks reportedly picking up some steam.

Adding upside to the Boston Red Sox rotation

Signing Garrett Richards isn’t going to fix the rotation for the Boston Red Sox, and it’s not a move that will help keep pace with Toronto’s recent signing of George Springer, but at the right price, this would be a move with a bit of upside for the Red Sox as they look to fill out a rotation in serious need of help to get through a 162-game season.

The 32-year-old right-handed pitcher has been plagued with injuries since logging 207 innings with the Los Angeles Angels back in 2015, including Tommy John surgery during the summer of 2018.

Signing with the San Diego Padres ahead of the 2019 season to a two-year deal, Richards returned at the very tail end of 2019 to throw a few innings, but has been healthy ever since, making 14 appearances with the Padres during the 2020 season.

Across 51.1 innings, Richards recorded a 4.03 ERA (4.28 FIP) and a 1.25 WHIP. His strikeout numbers (21.6%) weren’t up to where he was used to seeing them recently, but he was efficient at limiting walks, surrendering 2.98 BB/9 last season.

Now another year removed from Tommy John surgery, Richards is entering a period where pitchers tend to feel their best in their recovery. The injury risk is still significant, and he would be joining a rotation full of arms with either a long injury history or arms coming off recent, serious injury/health issues, but adding additional arms to this mix and using a deeper rotation could help in keeping the rotation fresh.

Richards flashed some of the tools that make him a solid rotation piece last season in San Diego, including his slider. His second-most used offering, Richards held hitters to a .147 average with his secondary pitch and produced a near-40% whiff rate.

If he can continue to see that sort of production and get his groundball rate back up around the 50% mark he’s been accustomed to throughout his career, Garrett Richards wouldn’t be a terrible signing for the Boston Red Sox.