Canadians, eh!
The Red Sox have two pending Canadian-born free agents in 31-year-old starter Nick Pivetta, who’s 4-5 with a 4.52 ERA and 4.47 FIP in 12 starts and 61.2 innings, and 29-year-old outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who’s banged out 16 home runs with an .880 OPS playing the corner outfield spots for Boston with a DRS of +1.
A Chad Green-type deal for a potential ace
After structuring a creative contract to sign the rehabbing Chad Green ahead of the 2023 season, could the Blue Jays looks to do something similar with a duo of potential free agent aces in Shane Bieber and Walker Buehler? Or with rehabbing free agent relievers like Daniel Bard and Kendall Graveman?
Bieber, the 2020 AL Cy Young winner, continues to rehab from season-ending Tommy John surgery in early April, but could be back to contribute next year. The 29-year-old righty went 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA in 134 starts over seven seasons with Cleveland, and led the majors in wins, ERA and strikeouts during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Buehler, who turns 30 this month, has struggled with injuries, making only 20 starts since the 2021 season; he’s back on the 15-day IL, this time with right hip inflammation.
So there are lots of options and lots of angles the Blue Jays could take to surround Guerrero, Bichette, Bassitt and the rest of their current core with free agent talent to improve this roster, and make a run at a World Series championship next year. The sooner the front office starts to focus on that, likely the better!