Red Sox
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Here's what former Red Sox standout Kyle Teel said about joining the White Sox
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Garrett Crochet is relieved to have found his next home in Boston and to go away the “chaos” of uncertainty behind him
The Red Sox are still in search of a starter despite their recent blockbuster move for Garrett Crochet.
Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow said after the trade that Boston will “continue to aggressively look for ways to improve the team,” whether by adding a starter and/or a right-handed hitter.
is Ken Rosenthal He listed several weapons he believes the Red Sox are involved with. The insider reconfirmed that the club has “inquired” about trading Luis Castillo from the Seattle Mariners and said they “can't rule out” opting free of charge agent Jack Flaherty.
Boston has long been linked to several Mariners starters in potential trade scenarios Sept. 13, when Rosenthal swam the concept that the Red Sox could trade first baseman Triston Casas to Seattle in exchange for pitching. This winter, the thought was changed into legitimate reporting by Rosenthal, amongst others.
Last weekend, Alex Speier of , reported that a Casas trade wasn't only a random thought. Speier said Boston was “open” to trading Casas for weapons, but didn’t specifically mention the Mariners in his story.
“An executive at an American League club said the Sox offered Casas as a headliner in talks for one of that team's arms and excluded Wilyer Abreu and the elite group of candidates (Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer) from the proposal,” said Speier.
Regardless of whether Casas stays in Boston in 2025 or not, it is obvious that the organization isn’t giving up on refining its rotation. Castillo appears to stay a viable trade option for them as someone who’s a longtime and sturdy arm. The 32-year-old right-hander owns a profession ERA of three.56 and hit 3.64 in 2024 with 175 strikeouts in 175 ⅓ innings.
Castillo has played fewer than 25 games only twice in his profession: in his rookie season in 2017 and within the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He only had an ERA greater than 4.00 once (2018) and his opponents had in his MLB -Career batting average above .250 once (.255 in 2021).
If the Red Sox actually wish to strengthen their rotation, adding Castillo would do exactly that.
As for Flaherty, Rosenthal also noted that the Red Sox were thinking about signing him when he was a free agent last winter. Flaherty ended up signing a one-year cope with the Detroit Tigers. He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on the trade deadline last season.
The 29-year-old right-hander hasn't performed at the extent he did in 2019, when he finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting. However, Flaherty had one in all the higher seasons of his profession in 2024. He had a 3.17 ERA in 28 starts and struck out nearly 200 batters (194). Flaherty also had 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings and held his home runs allowed per nine to 1.3.
With top free agent starters like Blake Snell and Max Fried not on the roster, Flaherty's stock will likely rise as the remainder of the league looks for weapons. Boston is He is reportedly hesitant about signing Corbin Burnes. Therefore, an arm like Flaherty might make more sense for the club in the event that they don't wish to sign larger contracts.
image credit : www.boston.com