McAdam: Three Black Friday Red Sox thoughts

Three Red Sox thoughts before we get into a busy Hot Stove week, which will include teams tendering (and non-tendering) contracts:

1. Recent roster activity spotlights just how bad the Red Sox pitching staff was in 2020

Since the conclusion of the season, the Red Sox have placed a total of 10 pitchers on waivers -- either through outright release, or as part of the designated-for-assignment process.  To date, eight have cleared and a ninth is expected to do so in the coming days.

They are: Ryan Weber, Matt Hall, Zack Godley, Dylan Covey, Mike Kickham, Kyle Hart, Robinson Leyer, Andrew Triggs, Domingo Tapia and Robert Stock.

Of the 10 pitchers in question, seven started games for the Sox (all but Covey, Tapia and Stock).

To claim any of the pitchers listed, it would have cost a mere $50,000 -- a pittance, given the salaries of major leaguers.

And yet, in an era when teams are forever searching for pitching depth, to date, only Tapia, whose fastball routinely reached triple digits, was claimed. Stock remains on waivers after being placed there earlier this week when the Sox claimed Arizona righthander Joel Payamps, but it's highly doubtful he'll be claimed.

Now, just because none of these pitchers were claimed doesn't necessarily mean that they're all without value. Or that, with some improvement, some can't someday contribute in a meaningful way to a major league roster.

But it speaks volumes about the talent level of the Red Sox pitching staff. Not counting position players Tzu-Wei Lin, Kevin Plawecki and Jose Peraza, the Sox utilized 27 different pitchers last season. They then essentially attempted to give away one-third of those (nine, assuming Stock goes unclaimed) -- and found zero takers.



2. Could the 2012-2013 Red Sox winter roster rebuild provide a road map for the 2020-21 Red Sox?

In speaking with chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom recently, I asked if he had thought much about how then-GM Ben Cherington approached that winter.

Then, as now, the Red Sox were coming off a last-place finish. Then, as now, the Red Sox were about to embark with a new manager (even though this is an encore performance for Alex Cora).

That year, Cherington chose carefully and wisely, handing out a handful of short-term (mostly two-year) deals: Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes and David Ross among them.

Cherington identified a bunch of veterans -- some coming off down years -- who were good bets to bounce back and signed them to low-risk deals. The players got a chance to bet on themselves and rebuild value; the Sox got good performances from most and rode them to a World Series title. It was a win-win all around.

"Well, if we could guarantee the same outcome....I'd be all in,'' joked Bloom. "That would be great. I do think there are some similarities (to 2012-13) on the surface. There's obviously also some differences. Everything -- not just for us, but for the industry --surrounding maneuvering around this pandemic adds a totally new wrinkle. But I do think, on the surface, there are similarities.''

3. It's only a matter of time now for Dustin Pedroia

The second baseman continues to occupy a spot on the 40-man roster, despite the widespread acknowledgement that he will not play again. Given that the Red Sox just discovered 10 pitchers who could be subtracted from the roster and exposed to waivers and lost only one is a stark reminder that the roster had some serious flotsam and jetsam.

But at some point, the Red Sox are going to add some free agents, or perhaps make a trade in which they receive more players than they ship away, and roster spots are going to become tougher and tougher to find.

It seems obvious that Pedroia is going to, at some point, be given his release by the Sox, accompanied by Pedroia announcing that his career is, indeed, sadly over. In turn, the Sox will have some sort of ceremony to honor him and recognize his long and distinguished career with Boston.

Maybe that press conference will come in spring training. Maybe it will come during the regular season with a pre-game salute.

But that shouldn't stop the Red Sox from doing the clerical work now. They can release Pedroia, Pedroia can acknowledge that he is unable to continue playing and collect the $12 million he's rightfully due for 2021 as part of his guaranteed deal and there can be an announcement about a day to honor Pedroia in the future.

Having him continue to take up a roster spot makes little sense going forward.