Coming off a disappointing 2020 MLB season, the Boston Red Sox are a prize free agent away from competing in 2021.
After a dismal 2020 MLB season, watch for the Boston Red Sox to be major players on the free agent market.
With Alex Cora returning as the team’s manager, along with the return of Eduardo Rodriguez and potentially Chris Sale at some point in 2021, the Red Sox are actually just a couple players away from competing in the AL.
Whether through trade or free agency, Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom is not shying away from spending some money this offseason and that should make Sox fans very optimistic that a more than adequate team will take the field in 2021.
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What should also make fans smile is the team won’t shy away from some big names with qualifying offers entangled. If they sign a player who turned down a qualifying offer, they would have to forfeit their second-highest draft pick along with some cash.
Bloom is okay with that if he feels the player or players will help the team.
"“I think it’s our responsibility on everything that can fit us,” Bloom said via Zoom call as transcribed by WEEI. “Obviously when you’re talking about somebody that has a qualifying offer them the cost to us in signing them is greater and you have to factor that on some level. I don’t like ruling us out on anybody.”"
With that music to our ears, here are the three most dynamic free agent targets for the Boston Red Sox going into the 2021 MLB season.
George Springer the bat who can bring it all together
One of the top free agents who turned down a qualifying offer from their perspective team is Houston Astros outfielder George Springer.
As one of the most productive leadoff hitters in the MLB, signing Springer would bring it all together for the Boston Red Sox in 2021. Not only would he fit in the outfield and be a potential replacement in center field if Jackie Bradley Jr. signs elsewhere, he would give the team that dangerous leadoff hitter they have been missing since trading away Mookie Betts.
In fact, it is George Springer who Cora compared Betts to when the Red Sox infused him as the leadoff hitter.
Just think about the impact Springer would have on the Red Sox lineup if Chaim Bloom were to pull it off. Not only would it help sluggers like J.D. Martinez, Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts, a player like Andrew Benintendi would halve less pressure on him which could lead him to finally having a breakout season.
As far as the defensive outfield goes, a trio of Benintendi, George Springer and Alex Verdugo would be quite exciting if you are a Boston Red Sox fan.
Oh, and it may even take away that sting of watching Mookie Betts win a World Series championship with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Yes, bring on George Springer who has been one of the top 5 run scorers in the league since 2017.
Trevor Bauer re-establishes the front-end of the rotation
The Boston Red Sox need a reinforcement at the top of their starting rotation and that player is Trevor Bauer.
The 2020 MLB season was a nightmare for the Red Sox starting rotation. They entered the season with no Chris Sale, traded David Price and lost Eduardo Rodriguez for the season due to COVID-related complications.
With Nathan Eovaldi as the lone returning starter, the Red Sox could only rely on Eovaldi, Martin Perez and later in the season rookie right-hander Tanner Houck impressed with a 3-0 record and 0.53 ERA.
If they hope to compete in 2021, they need top-line starters they can rely on. Bauer is that type of pitcher. With 9/1 odds to land the prize pitcher, the Red Sox will have to prove to Bauer that Boston is the right fit for him and will have to blow him out of the water with an offer.
They have the money to do it and they could entice Trevor Bauer in leading a starting rotation that will eventually include Chris Sale, a healthy Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi and the promise of Tanner Hauck.
This one is a long shot, but not an impossible dream if you are a Boston Red Sox fan. If Chaim Bloom can pull off signing Trevor Bauer, this team is once again a factor and that very forgettable 2020 MLB season would be just that.
Marcell Ozuna the perfect DH of the future
Following a breakout season with the Atlanta Braves in 2020, left fielder Marcell Ozuna has established himself as one of the top free agents in the offseason.
Though not as dynamic of an all-around player like George Springer, what makes Ozuna a potential prize signing for the Boston Red Sox is that he is a player who could eventually move to either first base or even more intriguing, could be the type of DH David Ortiz was for years to come.
In leading the National League in a shortened MLB season with 18 home runs and 56 RBIs, Ozuna is the kind of middle of the lineup bat who could do damage for the Boston Red Sox. He is also a player Alex Cora could get the best out of.
Would the Red Sox spend for a potential DH in the making?
Well, they are doing it now with J.D. Martinez who could be seeing his time in Boston coming to an end either through trade in 2021 or testing the free agent market following the 2021 season if he decides to opt out.
Whatever the case with Martinez, the Red Sox will find it in their best interest to have a replacement plan and Marcell Ozuna would be a fine replacement, especially at the DH spot in the lineup.
While George Springer would be the ultimate prize to stick at the top of the Red Sox lineup, Ozuna is a player who could really hit his ceiling in Boston, especially if David Ortiz himself provides some mentorship…and you know he will.