Dec. 16—The Red Sox have plenty of starting pitching. Nathan Eovaldi and Chris Sale are both healthy and ready to go, Nick Pivetta is coming off a breakout year, newly signed Rich Hill is still effective even at age 41 and some combination of Tanner Houck, Michael Wacha and Garrett Whitlock should compete for the fifth spot, with new arrival James Paxton likely to factor in by midseason as well.
Depth won’t be a problem, but when push comes to shove, is that group good enough to win a World Series?
Boston could use one more upper tier starter, a proven arm who can slot into the No. 3 spot vacated by Eduardo Rodriguez. But who’s the best man for the job? Obviously there are still some free agents who would fit the bill once the lockout is over, but given the hefty price tag they’ll come with Boston’s best bet might be to mine the trade market.
And of all the realistic trade possibilities, one seems like a clear choice. The Red Sox should trade for Oakland Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea.
The 29-year-old lefty, now entering his seventh big league season, is a consistent mid-rotation arm who boasts a 3.86 career ERA and is coming off a career year in 2021. This past year, Manaea threw a career-high 179.1 innings with a 3.91 ERA and saw his strikeout totals skyrocket, with his 194 representing by far the most of his career. He was also the only American League pitcher to throw two complete-game shutouts this season.
Manaea relies primarily on his sinker, which he throws about 60% of the time and which sits at around 92 mph, and he also throws a changeup and a curveball. This season he was also particularly effective at avoiding walks and home runs. He ranked fourth in the AL in strikeout-to-walk ratio, behind only Cy Young contenders Gerrit Cole, Eovaldi and eventual winner Robbie Ray, and ninth in home runs per nine innings.
Prior to this season, Manaea had enjoyed a strong start to his career before missing significant time to injury. Red Sox fans probably know Manaea best for the no hitter he threw against Boston in early 2018, but shoulder surgery later that season forced him to miss nearly a full year. He returned in late 2019 and went 4-0 with a 1.21 ERA in five starts, but thanks to the pandemic it wasn’t until this season that he had a real chance to put the lingering health doubts to rest.
There are a couple of other factors working in Manaea’s favor as well.
One, he’ll come relatively cheap. Manaea is currently in his final season of arbitration and is projected to earn $10.2 million before hitting the free agent market next offseason. That means he could easily fit within Boston’s payroll plans, and given his possibly being a one-year rental, it might not take as much to get him from Oakland either.
As for whether or not he’d be available in the first place, the Athletics are reportedly set to enter a fire sale as they cut payroll and build towards the future. That would make Manaea a prime candidate to go in exchange for prospects, and if the Red Sox could get Kyle Schwarber at the deadline for just one single-A pitcher, it stands to reason they have the resources to get Manaea out of Oakland.
That being said, Manaea is going to be in high demand. Fellow AL playoff rivals like the Yankees and Mariners will surely be among those interested, so when the lockout ends the Red Sox shouldn’t wait around.
Email: mcerullo@northofboston.com.
Twitter: @MacCerullo.