It Would Be Smart For The Red Sox To Invest In A Multi-Time All-Star Starter Despite the injury, Boston could be wise to act now.
The Boston Red Sox need to focus the bulk of their efforts on building up a rotation that can power them to the postseason in 2024.
With that said, one of the smarter moves Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow could make this offseason would be to make a play for an injured frontline starter to bolster the rotation for 2025 and possibly beyond.
The Milwaukee Brewers notably non-tendered right-hander Brandon Woodruff, one of the top starters in the game.
The 30-year-old was entering his final year of team control and is expected to be out for the season with a shoulder injury that required surgery. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that his timeline could be anywhere from six to 18 months after the surgery in October. The Brewers’ actions imply the latter.
Woodruff went 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA, 74-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .172 batting average against and a 0.82 WHIP in 67 innings in 2023. He has a career 3.10 ERA across seven seasons and has been a reliable performer for years.
The Red Sox almost certainly will end up with at least one high-end starter this winter. They’ll also likely add a legitimate No. 2 or No. 3 hurler. Assuming they do so, adding Woodruff would set them up to have an elite pitching staff in a couple of seasons.
Signing Woodruff now has a few advantages. The right-hander would have a year to rehab at Boston’s facilities before beginning his tenure with the Red Sox — similar to James Paxton in 2022 (though that was not the original plan).
Woodruff’s contract would likely include lower pay in 2024, which would benefit luxury tax purposes — the measurement uses average annual value. While the Red Sox would take a hit in Year 1 of the deal, it would be discounted for Year 2 and possibly beyond.
More importantly, Woodruff is a really good pitcher, one Boston could desperately use. He’s going to get a multi-year offer this winter and the Red Sox should be just as involved in his market as other premier hurlers.
