There was a time, and Orioles fans don’t have to go far back to remember it, when the Boston Red Sox response to 78 wins and a last-place finish, would have been to spend money. And then spend more.
Throw dollars at their problems. And sometimes that worked.
But recent moves by that team make this look like very different times in Beantown. Rather than sign a top free-agent pitcher like Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery (and they still could of course), the Sox recently agreed to a two-year deal with right-hander Lucas Giolito for $38.5 million. A nearly $20 million dollar salary for a pitcher who had a terrible ending to his 2023 season and allowed 41 homers over the season.
That was followed a day or two later by a trade of lefty Chris Sale for young infielder Vaughn Grissom. A deal where Boston sends $17 million to Atlanta to complete the trade.
Now Sale is no longer anywhere near the pitcher he once was. He’s dealt with numerous injuries for a while now. But while Giolito ended the ’23 season pitching terribly, Sale posted an ERA of 3.92 his last nine starts of the season with 54 strikeouts over 43 2/3. In addition, he gave up just a .203 batting average against and .667 OPS against in that time. It had to give Atlanta hope he still has something left in the tank for next season.
