With a long winter ahead of them, the Boston Red Sox can still investigate further alternatives before the 2024 season officially begins. The team has already strengthened its pitching staff.
Boston began its attempt to address its biggest shortcoming from the previous season when right-hander Lucas Giolito signed a two-year contract with the Red Sox during the free agency period. But former MLB general manager Jim Bowden, who is currently with The Athletic, suggested the Red Sox should change course and sign Mike Clevinger, another experienced righty.
In a matchmaking column, Bowden assembled a list of ten free agents and suggested Clevinger to Boston as the “best match” for both teams:
The second-most innings pitched by any pitcher for the White Sox in the previous campaign was 131 1/3 by Clevinger. Alongside Giolito, his White Sox teammate at the time, he pitched well and led the staff in victories.
Could the two get back together in Boston to help refine a rotation that really has to get better?
Following the Red Sox’s trade of Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Vaughn Grissom, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow stated the team would continue to explore additional options for improving the club during the winter.
In the 2023 rotation, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was largely unreliable and frequently had to rely on bullpen arms to help offset a glut of ailing starters. That turned out not to be the best of circumstances, as it contributed significantly to Boston’s decline towards finishing last in the American League East for the second consecutive season.
In his two career starts at Fenway Park, Clevinger has thrown nine innings and given up a total of seven earned runs.