The Boston Red Sox rotation faltered in the playoffs against the New York Yankees, showing their reliance on Garrett Crochet, who put together a Cy Young caliber season.
With Lucas Giolito hitting free agency, Boston is losing even more depth, which could get exposed next season.
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The Red Sox have lower-end arms on the books who can eat innings, though there is not a potent 1-2-3 combination that they can rely on come October.
...Considering their resources available to them, they could get aggressive and trade some of their assets while also using some money on a high-caliber starting arm.
The Los Angeles Dodgers won a World Series title with a below-average bullpen but a best-in-baseball starting rotation, showing the power that a strong, top-of-the-line starting pitching staff can deliver.
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The Red Sox could form a similar unit built around their southpaw Crochet, and Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report has some ideas for two names they can target.
"The Red Sox could sit on their hands, as some combination of Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, Kyle Harrison, and a healthy Patrick Sandoval is enough to give them a quality rotation behind ace Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello," Reuter wrote on Bleacher Report.
"However, they could also be one of the market's most aggressive teams, targeting one of the top-tier starters in free agency and swinging a deal to acquire someone like MacKenzie Gore or Joe Ryan. They have the spending ability and the young trade chips to get it done."
The hottest name linked to the Red Sox is indeed Joe Ryan, who the Minnesota Twins seem likely to shop, due to previous interest in him at the MLB trade deadline this past July. However, Gore is younger and has better strikeout numbers.
With two lefties in Crochet and Gore, Cease would make sense to pair with them due to his stuff, which can play in the postseason.
There are some consistency concerns with Cease, but when he is firing, the former San Diego Padres arm can deliver lights-out performances.
Regardless of whether it is rotation upgrades or bullpen improvements, Boston will need to acquire pitching talent and inject more quality if it wants to contend next season.
More news: Pirates GM Has 9-Word Message on Paul Skenes Trade Rumors
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