Baseball, you may have heard, is in a deep freeze.
No signings, no trades, no nuthin' -- at least not until the two sides can put aside their differences and hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement.
Even with the frantic spending spree in the days leading up to the lockout, a long list of free agents were still unsigned. But in the days before the lockout, that list grew when a number of players were non-tendered.
Those players are likely to have little leverage. Most aren't big-name players and a few probably won't even command major league deals. But still, there's some value in this list, and some that could definitely appeal to the Red Sox.
Here are a few:
1) LHP Matthew Boyd
Boyd may be one of the most recognizable names on this list, having once been part of a trade package for David Price. Boyd has pitched in the big leagues for parts of seven seasons and totaled 145 big league starts. Last year, he compiled a respectable 3.89 ERA in 15 starts, but experienced arm problems and eventually had surgery to repair the flexor tendon. He may not be ready for the start of the 2022 season, but could be a nice rehab candidate for the second half of the season. Teams needs about 10 starting pitching candidates to get through a season and Boyd is a nice depth option -- and likely, an inexpensive one at that.
2) RHP Richard Rodriguez
Chaim Bloom acknowledged that the Sox have some work to do in regards to their bullpen and Rodriguez wouldn't be a bad candidate to add. He's got closing experience, having saved 14 games for the Pirates before being acquired by Atlanta at the deadline. The Sox could use some depth in the late innings in the event that Matt Barnes doesn't bounce back and Rodriguez is perhaps the best relief arm out there. In the last four seasons, he's posted sub-4.00 ERAs.
3) INF/OF Phil Gosselin
Gosselin is a handy guy to have on a roster, capable of playing both infield and outfield. The quintessential journeyman, having played for seven different teams, Gosselin has also played every position except catcher and center field. He'd be a nice bench piece, or at worst, some insurance at Triple A -- especially if the Sox don't bring back Jose Iglesias. The Sox had two all-purpose utility guys on the team for much of the year -- Marwin Gonzalez and Danny Santana -- and Alex Cora has made it clear he likes to have versatile contributors on his roster.
4) C Grayson Greiner
Greiner isn't going to complete with Christian Vazquez or Kevin Plawecki, and candidly, he doesn't have a single skill that stands out. But -- and this is important -- he has parts of four years of big-league experience, and that counts for something. He'd be strictly insurance for the Sox and could be stashed at Worcester in the event the Sox needed an experienced, short-term fill-in at the major league level.
5) LHP Andrew Vasquez
This would represent a long shot, but it might be worth it. Vasquez has just 12 games worth of major league experience, and his last appearance in the big leagues came back in 2019. But at Triple A this past season, Vasquez averaged 14.7 strikeouts per nine innings. Again, he averaged 14.7 strikeouts per nine-innings. And did I mention that he's lefthanded? Sometimes, major league relievers are found in the unlikeliest of places.