Boston Red Sox: Initial thoughts on upcoming free agency decisions

As the World Series celebration continues for the 2018 Boston Red Sox, it’s time to start thinking about upcoming free agency.

With the Boston Red Sox winning their fourth World Series title in the past fifteen years, it’s definitely difficult to even start thinking about the 2019 season. Winter hasn’t even begun yet (well, maybe in New England it has, based off of this weather).

Regardless, Dom Dombrowski’s organization has a lot to think about before the offseason really begins to kick into high gear. Part of that has to do with free agency, and what they should focus on.

The first component of this process commences with looking at who’s available to re-sign. According to NESN, the Boston Red Sox have seven notable free agents on their roster; Craig Kimbrel, Nathan Eovaldi, Joe Kelly, Ian Kinsler, Steven Pearce, Drew Pomeranz and Brandon Phillips. Four of those players (Kimbrel, Eovaldi, Kelly and Pomeranz) are ranked in the MLB’s list of  top 50 free agents for the 2018-2019 offseason.

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Let’s start with Nathan Eovaldi and Craig Kimbrel

In my opinion, Eovaldi and Kimbrel should be top priority for Dombrowski, especially considering their contributions to the World Series winning team. Despite the shaky postseason for Kimbrel, the closer still managed to have one of his best regular seasons of his career, finishing with over 40 saves for the first time since his penultimate year with the Atlanta Braves back in 2014. He’s only 30 years-old too, so technically the righty is still considered to be in his prime.

As of right now, the same NESN source predicts that Kimbrel will sign a four-year $70 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.

If I’m Alex Cora, I do not let this happen. Attempt to give him that one-year $17.9 million qualifying offer, and if he does go else where, at least Boston will have draft compensation.

In Eovaldi’s case, the postseason hero will look to re-sign with the Boston Red Sox as he heads into his 30s. A four-year deal looks sufficient for him, with the biggest risk coming from the fact that the righty has had two Tommy John surgeries in his career. Having an established third starter will be critical to keeping a title contender in tact for future seasons. Signing Eovaldi seems to be an excellent start.

Pearce and Phillips were both considered to be utility players when Boston decided to pick them up during the trade deadline. Despite writing about his stellar start with the team back in August, Phillips probably won’t come back to the team. He played no part in the playoffs, and looked like a rental right from the beginning of his tenure.

He’s 37-years-old so incidentally, the second baseman is well past his greatest years. Seemingly, he will not be top priority for Dombrowski.

Pearce on the other hand turned into a folk hero for Boston fans, and represented everything the city loves about their sports teams. The World Series MVP went 5-12 with three homers and eight RBIs against the Dodgers, according to Baseball-Reference.

Stat-wise, it was his best performance of his career in the postseason, even including his successful stints with the Baltimore Orioles back in 2014 (where he batted .450 in two ALDS appearances). Even if it’s just a one-year deal, re-signing Pearce is integral in making sure the Boston Red Sox are at the finish line once again next October.

What about Drew Pomeranz?

With that in mind, Pomeranz will probably need to walk. He’s 30 years-old and experienced decreased velocity and unfortunate injuries for the majority of the 2018 regular season.

His role in the playoffs was minimal, and his value has undoubtedly diminished since participating in the All-Star game only a year ago. It will be interesting to see how much money anyone is willing to give him with regards to the rest of the MLB.

So far so good for the Sox though, especially with picking up Chris Sale’s option for 2019. I’m glad they did that immediately following the Game 5 victory. He’s got a chance to up his value even more after his Cy Young campaign.

As the celebration continues, fans will be looking to see how in-tact their beloved Boston Red Sox will be heading into the winter. Hopefully, things won’t be too different.