Three of the past four seasons the Boston Red Sox have finished last in the American League East. Granted, the one year they didn't they won the World Series but that doesn't make the last place finishes any more palatable. In an effort turn around the tailspin the Red Sox has recently found themselves, the Red Sox are said to be turning their attention to the free agent market.
In terms of record, the Red Sox had a 7 win improvement in 2015 over the previous season. Offense went up 114 runs but so did the amount they surrendered. They gave up 39 more than they did the previous season. As such, it appears the Red Sox will make a big splash in the free agent market. Last year, starting pitching was Boston's achilles heel. Only two of their pitchers, who started at least 10 games, Eduardo Rodriguez and Clay Buchholz, posted sub-4.00 ERAs. Of course, where Buchholz is concerned, one has to temper excitement. Buchholz has long teased fans and management alike with his ability only to let them down. In his 9 years in the league, Buchholz has started 20 games only three times, never 30.
Strangely though, Boston seems to want to improve on their greatest strength, their closer. Reports have suggested that the Red Sox are pursuing Cincinnati closer Aroldis Chapman, he of the 100 MPH fastball and 1.90 career ERA. According to the website, Rosenthal further reports that the Sox are doing background work on Chapman, perhaps laying the foundation for a trade. Current closer Koji Uehara turns 41 April 3 and is coming off a broken forearm that ended his season in August."
The website MassLive also had them going for a bullpen guy in free agency but, instead of Chapman, they have the Red Sox interested in Baltimore's Darren O'Day and Chris Davis. It will cost a lot of money. With a glut of outfielders, the Red Sox seem to have potential trading chips as well.
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