MLB: Boston Red Sox join race for Carlos Rodon

The Red sox were among the many teams linked to Carlos Rodon, in a recent Chicago Daily Herald story, and he ticks all the boxes for a value-obsessed club.

First, the 29-year-old southpaw is extremely talented, coming off a great 2021 campaign that included a no-hitter, a 2.37 ERA and his first-place All-Star game.

The third pick in the 2014 MLB Draft also developed late, thanks to the 2017 shoulder surgery and the 2019 Tommy John.

New from @Jtomase:

Carlos Rodon would be a perfect Red Sox signing – and that’s the problem ⏬https://t.co/SUeUphxmdC

– NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) December 13, 2021

For a team like the Red Sox, Rodon represents an opportunity, but here come the “ifs”: if he’s willing to sign a one-year deal with an option, and if he can stay healthy, and if he pitches at his starting level. injury ceiling, then the Red Sox will have added a top-notch starter without making a long-term commitment. That seems to be the sweet spot under baseball director Chaim Bloom.

The gamble didn’t pay off last winter with right-hander Garrett Richards, whose option was turned down, but perhaps this time it will pay off with left-hander James Paxton, who is expected to miss most of the season while recovering from the season. Tommy John surgery. He signed a one-year contract with options for 2023 and 2024 that could be worth between $ 10 million and $ 32 million.

There is little doubt that a healthy Rodon could be at the helm of a rotation. The fact that he struck out nearly 35 percent of the hitters he faced would play better against an unsatisfactory Red Sox defense than, say, groundout machine Marcus Stroman, who signed for three years with the Cubs.