The inventor of the cliche “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket” would be disappointed with the Red Sox right now.
Other than the bombshell addition of 2012 Red Sox immortal Ivan De Jesus Jr. on Wednesday, the Red Sox offseason has been like Pluto: freezing cold and no signs of human life.
The meter moved this week, however, when it was reported by Bob Nightengale that the Red Sox offered a 5-year deal to JD Martinez. Finally, they might get the guy everyone has been talking about for three months. There’s not really any other teams showing interest in him--and the Red Sox decided they can’t put a price on friendship and really expect to win a World Series. Except, they do have limits.
It seems like the Red Sox really only care about getting Martinez. Notice how the team definitely has other needs, but they’re going to try to solve everything else internally. It’s a bold move. We’ll see how it works out for them.
For example: the team could really use a left-handed reliever, in my opinion. Has there been any talk of them adding one this offseason? Nope. They’re going into the season with Robby Scott (4.94 ERA in 36 outings after Memorial Day) and Brian Johnson (who hasn’t relieved as a pro like ever). The market for them is also pretty thin at this point.
Oh, and then they don’t have much support if either Christian Vazquez or Sandy Leon goes down. Blake Swihart is out if MiLB options and probably won’t be catching this spring. You would think they’d invest in a solid No. 3 option there. Guess not.
In terms of depth, they could do a lot better. Teams need like 10 starters to get through a season. The Red Sox only viable depth starters are Steven Wright (he’ll probably be a long reliever when the team is at full strength) and Hector Velazquez if Johnson is relieving. Fine, but maybe a veteran arm could help (whoever is this year’s Doug Fister or Sean O’Sullivan).
(This commentary from Dave O’Brien sums up O’Sullivan’s career, I’d say)
The Red Sox really do have great right-handed bullpen depth and some real depth in the middle infield. But, they must feel pretty good with most of their organization if they haven’t done much by now.