This was undeniably the starting gun for the Major League Baseball season.
Lockout, be darned. Hot Stove season is upon us. Let it be said, let it be done ...
In a matter of just a few hours, we were bludgeoned with all kinds of roster news for these Red Sox.
J.D. Martinez is opting into the final year of his contract. The Red Sox are extending Eduardo Rodriguez a one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer. Christian Vazquez is getting his 2022 option picked up. Garrett Richards and Martin Perez? Not so much.
There you have it. And, you know what? When the dust settled and the Red Sox could head into the next month with a far better knowledge of which cards they were holding, it proved to be a good day for Chaim Bloom and Co.
At the top of the list was Martinez's decison.
While some were obsessed with the Red Sox securing the extra $19.375 million and/or freeing up a spot for free agent Kyle Schwarber, it should be understood how valuable Martinez is to this lineup.
Sure, the 34-year-old didn't have the shock-and-awe campaign we have become accustomed to (hitting .286 with an .867 OPS and 28 homers), but his presence somewhere in the middle of the order is a very real thing.
The Red Sox were 18 games over .500 when Martinez notched at least one hit in 2021, 37-18 in games he totaled one or more RBI, and 22-3 in games he homered at least once. More importantly, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, and Alex Verdugo are better hitters when Martinez is in the lineup. That's a dynamic that has been in play since 2018 (with the two-month exception of 2020), and that isn't going to change.
"You learn over time in this game not to be too surprised by anything," said Bloom of Martinez's decision. "Certainly, happy he’s with us. He’s such a force in the lineup, not only what he produces but how he transforms what the lineup looks around him, how he changes the conversation in the cage, the preparation before games. So we’re very excited he’s back with us. This was one, stepping back and looking at it, I don’t know there’s any outcome that surprised us, but we’re really glad he decided to stay."
As for Schwarber, the door isn't closed. There is a very real scenario where this could happen, with the face of Waltham offering left-handed-hitting options at first base and the outfield until the Red Sox gain full confidence in implementing the likes of Triston Casas and Jarren Duran. And then, when Martinez leaves after 2022, you have your designated hitter.
Now, nobody should be going to Vegas betting on such a scenario, but that doesn't mean there isn't a path to a Schwarber return.
"We’ve been engaged with Kyle," Bloom noted. "We’re going to stay engaged. Knowing JD is here changes how we look at the lineup and position player group, generally. But as I said after the season, we played some of our best baseball with both of those guys. They both fit, it just gives us more clarity going forward and which paths we take as we reshape and put together this position player group for 2022."
Next on the to-do list was Rodriguez.
This one made all the sense in the world. If the 28-year-old lefty accepts the qualifying offer, the Red Sox have the kind of piece in their starting rotation they might be searching for if Rodriguez had left. And instead of committing to a multi-year deal, we are talking just one year. And that one year is with a pitcher motivated to prove that he is closer to the guy who walked off the mound in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series than the up-and-down image rolled out way too much in 2021.
If Rodriguez declines the offer, heads into free agency and gets his multi-year deal from some team - which would also have to include draft pick compensation - so be it. For the Red Sox, the value here is to find out if exactly what they have in Rodriguez and do so without paying the top dollars that many believed were inevitable heading into last season.
With Rodriguez, you keep the flexibility offered by Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock, while allowing one more season of development by a group of Double-A pitchers who are seemingly at least half a season away from big-league integration.
"Generally speaking, as you guys know, I don’t get too much into the subject of contract negotiations," Bloom said when asked about Rodriguez. "But I think it’s fair to say, and I don’t think it would be a surprise - it’s backed up by offering the QO - we would love to have him here for a longer period of time if it lines up for everybody. It’s fair to expect that is something we’re going to explore simultaneously."
Considering the alternatives to Vazquez behind the plate, paying the 31-year-old $7 million is worth the security. Sure, it would go a long way if he could improve on his .659 OPS and six home runs of 2021, but for what the backstop brings it was most likely to pay a bit over market value.
As for Richards and Perez, it should not be forgotten that both supplied important stretches of excellence during the Red Sox' run. But given the chance to spread around the $15 million that was gained by not picking up the pair's options - along with both pitchers failing to consistently prove they were worth what the Red Sox were paying them - the moves were no-brainers.
The Red Sox still need some fixing, particularly when it comes to figuring how they are going to consistently manage Innings 6-9. But this was a start. Welcome to the offseason.