The Boston Red Sox are actively seeking to enhance their pitching rotation and have signed a veteran right-handed pitcher, Giolito, who is considered a reclamation project with the potential to be a solid rotation player. Giolito, the 8th-best free agent starter available, had a 4.90 ERA in 2022 and allowed 65 home runs over the past two seasons. Despite these figures, there is optimism about his ability to bounce back. The Atlanta Braves, after careful analysis, are convinced that their offense is championship-caliber and have filled their need for a starter, viewing Chris Sale as a low-cost gamble with playoff-caliber potential. The Braves have also acquired Vaughn Grissom, who hit his first big league homer at Fenway Park, and is projected to be their everyday second baseman. The Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds have also made moves to strengthen their rotations with new signings. Craig Breslow of the Red Sox commented on the difficulty of trading someone like Sale but believes the decisions made are in the best interest of the team.
Breslow also says acquiring Starting pitching is still a priority via either trade or free agency. #RedSox @wbz https://t.co/1H5cQ7gPMz
Breslow said starting pitching remains a priority whether it's via free agent or trade.
Breslow said Sox need to be ready to deal young prospects to trade for quality, controllable starting pitching.
Breslow suggests that Sox project more power for Grissom given his age (23 next week), while already having standout bat-to-ball skills.
"Dynamic athlete who can play all over the field, offers versatility... is most likely to settle in at second base. Really strong RH bat, elite performer in minor leagues and has 6 years of control." - Craig Breslow on Vaughn Grissom, via @ChrisCotillo And there it is. This… https://t.co/QvNH8x3zWW
Breslow says they view Grissom as an everyday second baseman.
Breslow: “We’re certainly open-minded about the possibilities of further upgrades.” Says team remains engaged in free agency and the trade market.
Breslow says Grissom can play all over the field but most likely will settle in at 2B. As for rotation, “there’s plenty of time left in the offseason.”
Breslow on trade: “Any time you trade someone like Sale, it’s obviously a really, really tough baseball decision. … In the end, I thought this was a decision that was best for the Red Sox.”
Newest @RedSox infielder @GrissomVaughn went over the Green Monster for his first career home run! https://t.co/ENd3GfAk2b
Sale is a low-cost gamble, who the Braves still view as a playoff-caliber starter https://t.co/SEkxrK7qrX
Anthopoulos on Vaughn Grissom: “it was tough - one of the harder guys to move… Can flat hit, tremendous bat to ball skills. … He’s absolutely ready be an everyday player right now.”
Red Sox can use $10.5M savings to go back into FA pitching market for more and can now more freely dangle middle infield prospects in trade talks for starters. Grissom should be the everyday 2B. So one hole plugged, another opened with this and plenty of options on the table.
#Braves offseason needs: ✅️ Address rotation ✅️ Address bullpen ✅️ Address left field Obviously, the rotation still needs more longer term work, but the winter shopping list appears to be pretty well rounded out. There will still be a few more moves to fill the 40-man.
The #Reds bolster their rotation with another notable free agent signing: https://t.co/zRPs2RMdhd https://t.co/TdqtwTGq4N https://t.co/X57tfgyd1d
The #Reds bolster with rotation with another notable free agent signing: https://t.co/zRPs2RMdhd https://t.co/TdqtwTGq4N
I wrote this week about how BOS needed to add a RH hitting IF and had the money but not necessarily the rotation spots for multiple FA starters. BOS signed Giolito right after this posted. Now another rotation spot is open with the infield spot filled 👀 https://t.co/jksWWOVPhl https://t.co/oCRjBjHYvj https://t.co/8O8FKz7S9T
Grissom now gets to play his home games in the ballpark where he made his memorable MLB debut. https://t.co/KyBNrW7xNc https://t.co/o1nYD05hiW https://t.co/A1XgV5HkkW
The Braves have filled their need for a starter. https://t.co/qzCCtlwo0e
Vaughn Grissom’s first big league homer came at Fenway. That’s your new second baseman https://t.co/kKQURrN0Tt
With the Red Sox adding another bat to the mix, and further depleting their rotation, seems even more likely that they are going to move a bat for some pitching. They have been one team that has made a lot of sense for a potential deal with the Giants. https://t.co/Kn4IPUGiHu
ICYMI yesterday, the #WhiteSox added some pitching depth: https://t.co/aIhDtW1jER https://t.co/1bwyNTNoBt
White Sox cast wide net around starting-pitcher possibilities 👇 https://t.co/ICeWiL0Cq8
#WhiteSox bring in former #Mariners, #Rockies starter on one-year deal https://t.co/aIhDtW1Rup https://t.co/HltsqONusF
Giolito has the stuff and durability upside to bounce back with a 4+ WAR season in 2024, but public projections have him rebounding with a more modest 2.5 WAR or so. The problem is he's not replacing a 0 WAR spot, he's bumping a ~2 WAR guy out of the rotation. Incremental.
All this talk about Giolito bouncing back from his nightmare second half seems to gloss right over the fact that he had a 4.90 ERA in 2022 (though he had COVID then, so who knows).
On @mlbtraderumors, Giolito was listed as the 8th-best FA starter available. He has an ERA+ of 86 the last two seasons with 65 HRs allowed. #RedSox need multiple starters, so seemingly more to be done. But at least it's something.
Updated FA Matrix with Giolito to the Red Sox, which hopefully actually gets the mid-level SP market moving: https://t.co/qoS3snn6NQ
Wrote about the Red Sox’ interest in Giolito as a reliable source of innings with considerable upside (No 2-3 starter) if he bounces back from a second-half struggle during which he dealt with a uniquely chaotic period https://t.co/ik5wGLYhJq
#RedSox add a veteran RHP starter - who is a bit of a reclamation project, but could a solid rotation guy! @wbz https://t.co/TTRcg9CAQ5
lOOKS LIKE #rEDsOX HAVE Looks like the #RedSox have finally made a free agent signing, per @JonHeyman - @wbz https://t.co/mXwL9oHzjh
After missing out on their top two targets, the #SFGiants still can salvage the offseason with these moves. https://t.co/ArI4DHbpu1
After settling of dust and sober analysis by #Braves officials convinced them that their offense is championship caliber, and the rotation is far from a weakness that must be improved at any cost, it seems a couple of less-sexy offseason plans emerged: https://t.co/Qvf2b5HWmG
#Braves add some depth. https://t.co/HxYLkXeQpC https://t.co/FsEWVII31W
While the #RedSox are reportedly focused on improving their rotation, that's not stopping them from looking into additions in other areas: https://t.co/GWvneIS1G1 https://t.co/eedhHl6Mnf