MLB’s free agency and hot stove season is finally here. The free agency period opened up last week, and now all eligible players can sign wherever they choose. The Boston Red Sox, after an active 2024 offseason, are expected to be active once again this offseason, hoping to advance to the World Series in the American League. Last offseason, Boston went all-in by adding Alex Bregman and Aroldis Chapman in free agency, and then pulling off a blockbuster trade for Garrett Crochet.
So, what could be in store for the Red Sox this offseason? It was reported that after Lucas Giolito was not extended a qualifying offer by Boston, he would still like to return to the organization. However, if he doesn’t, that leaves a big hole in Boston’s rotation that would have to be addressed. A recent prediction has the Red Sox being a desirable destination for San Diego Padres’ starter, Dylan Cease.
More MLB on Heavy: Recent Dylan Cease Prediction Features $189 Million Contract Projection
Red Sox Linked to Padres’ Dylan Cease
The Padres are set to have a few key decisions on free agents this offseason. Perhaps the biggest is Dylan Cease, who recently received a seven-year, $189 million contract prediction from MLBTradeRumors.com:Â
The collaborators in the article also gave their predictions on where each player will land, and two of the contributors (Tim, Darragh) predict that Dylan Cease will end up signing with the Red Sox.
GettyBoston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow
“Cease comes armed with a 97.1 mile per hour average fastball that ranked sixth among qualified starters this year. Cease threw the most valuable slider in baseball in both 2022 and â24 (he even wrote a poem about it), and he throws it even more than his fastball these days.”
Despite the inflated 4.55 ERA and a high walk rate, Dylan Cease has some very desirable traits. First off, he’s made 32+ starts in five straight seasons, so his ability to take the ball each fifth day is unmatched. Another thing he’s done in five straight seasons? Strike out 200+ batters. He led MLB with 11.5 K’s/9 this season, and struck out 29.7% of batters faced.
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Why is Dylan Cease a Good Fit for Boston?
If the Red Sox pull the trigger on Dylan Cease, that would give them the best frontline rotation in baseball in terms of pure strikeout stuff. Garrett Crochet will likely finish top-3 in AL CY Young voting this week for his amazing campaign, and Cease has at least proved that when he has a down-ish season, he rebounds stronger.
For example, after posting a 3.91 ERA in 2021, he posted a 2.20 ERA in 2022. In 2023, he had a 4.58 ERA. But he responded again in 2o24 with a 3.47 Earned Run Average.
Dylan Cease is thought to be the biggest starting pitcher on the free agent market, and his sweepstakes will be one of the biggest storylines to follow in MLB this winter.
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