Last season, one of the strengths of the Boston Red Sox was their bullpen. Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman at the back end were good for manager Alex Cora. At the trade deadline, they acquired veteran left-hander Steven Matz to pair with Justin Wilson.
Both Matz and Wilson are free agents this offseason and are likely going to land with other teams. In a loaded American League East, if you are going to compete, you need a strong bullpen. Boston has multiple needs this offseason, which includes adding some arms for Cora in the bullpen.
“The Red Sox had a tremendous bullpen in 2025, finishing second in the majors with a 3.41 ERA thanks in large part to the duo of Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman at the back end. Whitlock emerged as a reliable setup man, and Chapman had a career year in his age-37 campaign,” Manny Randhawa of MLB.com wrote.
There are some free agents who could fill the voids, while some of the relief pitchers are looking to potentially be starters. One free agent reliever is Luke Weaver of the New York Yankees, and he was linked to the Red Sox this winter.
Red Sox Linked to Yankees Free Agent Luke Weaver
At the trade deadline, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman loaded up his bullpen for a playoff push. Some of the arms he acquired are under team control. That opens the door for others to leave in free agency. Weaver struggled out of New York’s bullpen and is a bounce-back candidate for 2026. Could he have that bounce-back season in Boston?
“With left-handers Steven Matz and Justin Wilson on the free-agent market, Boston stands to lose two of its relievers and would need to fill those holes. Weaver is coming off a down year by his standards in his second season with the Yankees, but there is plenty of reason to believe he’ll bounce back in 2025, and adding him could create a three-headed monster in the Boston pen,” Randhawa also wrote.
Yankees’ fans will tell you that Weaver wasn’t good, but he certainly had his moments. He was 8-for-12 in save opportunities. He had a 3.62 ERA in 64.2 innings with 72 strikeouts and 20 walks in 64 appearances. Cristian Crespo of Just Baseball pointed out the up-and-down season Weaver had in the Bronx in 2025.
“2025 was just a tale of two halves for the righty. In 34 innings in the first half of the season, Weaver posted a 2.91 ERA with an opponent batting average of .165. The beginning of the second half was rough, posting a 7.15 ERA in July. After settling back in with a 1.23 ERA in August, it was the 9.64 ERA in September that left a sour taste in the mouths of Yankee fans to end the season,” Crespo wrote.
Luke Weaver Will Have Plenty of Suitors Despite Struggles
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