The Boston Red Sox have begun to wake up after a slow start to the offseason, making some big moves right before the end of 2023 to give their starting rotation a very new look. After signing Lucas Giolito to a two-year, $38.5 million deal in free agency, the Sox followed that up by trading Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Vaughn Grissom.
All offseason long, it's been abundantly clear that Boston's pitching staff needs help, and a big part of the problem was Sale. The supposed ace of their pitching staff, Sale was hardly able to stay on the mound for the Red Sox over the past few seasons, and even when he was healthy, he was not the same pitcher he was at the peak of his powers.
Signing Giolito to essentially replace Sale doesn't come without risk, although it is certainly limited considering he's only on a two-year deal that can quickly become a one-year deal. Given the state of the starting rotation, though, there is still help that is needed, and it's imperative that the front office makes the necessary moves now that Sale is gone.
Red Sox made the right move with Chris Sale, now they need to replace him
Sale's tenure with Boston should always be remembered fondly after he struck out Manny Machado to secure the 2018 World Series for the Sox, but pretty much everything after that was a complete mess. Sale made a total of 56 starts over the ensuing five seasons, and again, his numbers were not great over those starts (17-18, 4.16 ERA, 400 K, 1.14 WHIP).
The strikeouts are still there for Sale, but he's giving up runs at a far higher rate than he once did. His inability to truly get a feel for his changeup again after he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020 made him a two-pitch pitcher for the most part, and while his slider is still one of the best pitches in the game, it's hard to keep hitters off balance with just a two-pitch repertoire.
Moving on from Sale was the right move. Heck, this was probably a move the Red Sox should have made a few years ago. Their extension for Sale right after the World Series ended up being a colossal failure, and while they shed the final year of his deal, it's not like they are saving an outrageous amount of money by sending him to Atlanta right now.
Picking up Grissom, who is a talented young second baseman that can immediately slide into an everyday role at the position, isn't the worst return ever, but it would have been nice to bring in another pitching prospect in return for Sale. Beggars can't be choosers, though, and Boston likely didn't have any other deal that came close to this one.
Now that Sale is gone, the front office has to pivot and focus on adding to their rotation. Even when Sale was on board, they needed more help. The good news is that there are a handful of top-tier starters still available on the free agent market, and they just cleared up around $8 million by shipping Sale down to Atlanta.
The two names that make the most sense for Boston seem to be arguably the top two arms left on the market in Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery. Snell is fresh off winning the second Cy Young award of his career in 2023 (14-9, 2.25 ERA, 234 K, 1.19 WHIP), while Montgomery helped the Texas Rangers win a World Series after he began the year with the St. Louis Cardinals (10-11, 3.20 ERA, 166 K, 1.09 WHIP).
Both Snell and Montgomery are going to cost a decent chunk of cash, which is concerning given Boston ownership's strange desire to not spend the money they definitely have to assemble a championship caliber team. Realistically speaking, the Red Sox should have no problem giving these guys what they want, but we have seen them get outbid for pretty much every big name free agent they've been interested in over the past few years.
Snell is probably the more attractive option given his ceiling, but Montgomery may be a more cost-effective target, and he's also proven himself to be a stud on the biggest stage the game has to offer. The problem is that that deal Montgomery is looking for might be a bit tougher to justify than what Snell is looking for.
With money freed up from moving Sale, bringing one of these two guys to Boston is a must as free agency crawls into the new year. The Red Sox aren't going to get any better without adding significant talent to their team, and sometimes that involves opening up the checkbook to do so. With Sale gone, the need for pitching is greater than it's ever been, and if the Sox miss out on both of these guys, they could be in some big trouble in 2024.
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