So, this is what we have so far when it comes to the Red Sox and their search for starting pitching ...
- They decided it wasn't worth paying Martin Perez just more than $6 million for 2021 despite a fairly solid 2020.
- Potential high-end free agent options Kevin Gausman and Marcus Stroman came off the board after accepting qualifying offers.
- Charlie Morton (one-year, $15 million) and Robbie Ray (one-year $8 million) were signed by the Braves and Blue Jays, respectively. Drew Smyly (one-year, $11 million) also agreed to terms with Atlanta.
- Some of the free agents they have been linked to include J.A. Happ (projected at one-year, $6 million by MLB Trade Rumors) and Matt Shoemaker.
- In an interview with OMF, Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom said he wouldn't hesitate trying to strike a deal with a division rival like the Rays, and believed sentiment was shared by Tampa Bay. Cue the Blake Snell conversation.
Now we have Mike Minor going to the Royals.
The deal is for two years at what one source described at around "eight or nine million" a year. (It is interesting to note that MLBTR's projection for the almost-33-year-old Minor is the same as Happ.)
So, where does that leave the Red Sox it is a starting pitcher they want to spend their money on.
If they believe Trevor Bauer is their next Chris Sale -- the anchor of the rotation you're willing to commit payroll-changing years and money to -- then he is an option. But the Red Sox' willingness to stiff-arm their economic challenges, accept the absence of a draft pick and go all-in Dombrowski-style is a mystery.
The more likely scenario was a guy like Minor, who is a guy like Perez, who is a guy like Happ, who is a guy like Jon Lester, who is a guy like Corey Kluber, who is a guy like Cole Hamels. You get the picture. There are a lot of options left on short years and relatively short money.
There are next-level options that are going to cost more years and more money, such as Masahiro Tanaka and Jake Odorizzi, and then another level -- Jose Quintana, Garrett Richards, Taijaun Walker and James Paxton.
The point is that when it comes to the kind of starter the Red Sox are looking for -- assuming they are willing to count on the return of Eduardo Rodriguez and Chris Sale, along with more consistency from Nathan Eovaldi -- there are plenty of options that will cost relatively the same.
So we wait and watch with the understanding that the only thing we are sure of is that there will be options for a while.
Welcome to the 2020-21 MLB offseason, potentially the most unpredictable of them all.