Boston Red Sox Rumors: 2 Blue Jays pitchers that the Sox could target

Boston Red Sox free agent target No. 1: Robbie Ray

Fresh off winning the American League Cy Young award, Robbie Ray seems set to earn a huge chunk of cash this offseason. Could that deal end up coming from the Red Sox? They have been keeping an eye on Ray according to recent reports, and depending on how their pursuit of Matz goes, they could end up turning their attention towards Ray instead.

Ray had made a name for himself with the Arizona Diamondbacks as a strikeout machine, but if a batter made contact on Ray, it usually didn’t end well. The Diamondbacks had enough of Ray’s inconsistency in 2020, and traded him to the Blue Jays at the trade deadline. Who knew that just a year and a half later, Ray would be crowned with the most prestigious award a pitcher can get in the MLB.

Ray dominated in 2021, posting a 13-7 record, a 2.84 ERA, and 248 strikeouts. He led the American League in a number of categories (including ERA and strikeouts) and pretty much came out of nowhere to emerge as the most dominant pitcher in the AL. Not bad for a guy who was dumped off for next to nothing in 2020.

Ray seems likely to command a deal somewhere between $25-30 million per year, and the Blue Jays are doing what they can to make sure they are the team paying him that large sum of cash. But if he ends up departing from Toronto, Boston should at least make the star lefty an offer. They need another left handed arm in their rotation to compliment Chris Sale, and a rotation led by Sale, Ray, and Nathan Eovaldi would have to be considered one of, it not the best, in the entire league.

Ray is going to be arguably the most expensive pitcher on the market this offseason, and for good reason. Despite the price tag, he could be the final piece the Boston Red Sox need to push their pursuit for another World Series over the top. Chances are the team makes a bigger push for Matz, but if they really want to do some damage this offseason, Ray would be their guy.