Written by Joe Messineo at No Coast Bias
The Boston Red Sox are going hunting for an ace pitcher this offseason. That’s a known fact: the front office has made it clear that they think an ace would help this team more than any other single player, and they’re probably right. The Red Sox have tons of young talent on offense, but they were totally unable to prevent other teams from scoring runs this year. If they can add a veteran presence on the mound, they’ll give their clubhouse a new leader while ensuring that their offense has a chance to win games.
There is no shortage of aces available, either. This year’s free agent class is stocked with powerful pitchers, including Johnny Cueto, Zack Greinke, David Price, and Jordan Zimmermann.
Red Sox and AL Blues
When Johnny Cueto went to the Kansas City Royals, he didn’t look quite as good as he did in Cincinnati. While Cueto had one really big performance in the World Series, his late season and postseason numbers don’t paint nearly as pretty of a picture as his National League numbers. His ERA was north of 4.00 in Kansas City, and his FIP doesn’t exonerate him at all – which you might expect, considering how great the Royals’ defense skills are known to be. So Cueto’s KC woes were all his own, and that’s bad news.
Pitching in the American League is tough. Pitching in Fenway Park is even tougher. The Red Sox are rumored to be considering Cueto, but he may not be the best fit for them. Jordan Zimmermann is also an NL guy, and he earned a lot of his accolades against a poor-hitting NL East.
There are pitchers available who can handle the American League, though – like David Price, who has spent his entire career there.
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