Strange days indeed
But wait-and-see works sometimes
This has been both the slowest and strangest of offseasons, with the Red Sox’ most significant deal thus far the re-signing of first baseman Mitch Moreland.
With the team in need of a bona-fide slugger, the absence of a big-time offensive addition like, say, outfielder J.D. Martinez, stands out as a glaring omission as we churn into the middle of January.
Maybe it’s not so weird after all, because the Sox have been able to do business historically in the opening calendar months of the year. But though sometimes quite significant, the deals the Red Sox have struck in the first quarter tend to be the baseball equivalent of bargain shopping.
One could argue the Sox made their most monumental move in franchise history on Jan. 22, 2003. That was the day the club inked free agent David Ortiz on the recommendation of his good friend Pedro Martinez, who after speaking with the glum and unsigned designated hitter at a Santo Domingo restaurant, placed a call to the Red Sox that set in motion the signing of the club’s best slugger since Ted Williams and its only player this century with three World Series rings.
The irony that the club is searching for Ortiz’ replacement 15 Januarys later is not lost on anyone.
As January signings go for the Sox, the Ortiz deal can’t be topped, but at the time, it was a no-risk, highupside, one-year gamble.
Mega-deals like the team is expected to sign with Martinez are almost unheard of at this point on the calendar. The club did sign right fielder J.D. Drew to a five-year, $70 million contract in February 2007, but that deal was agreed to in principle in early December. The Sox and Drew’s agent, Scott Boras, needed more than two months to agree on language related to the player’s shoulder.
On Jan. 4, 2010, the Red Sox signed third baseman Adrian Beltre, a Boras client, to his one-year pillow contract. Perhaps Rafael Devers will stick at that position for many years, but the track records of Will Middlebrooks and Pablo Sandoval speak for themselves about how tough it has been for the Sox to replace Beltre, who is likely Hall of Fame-bound.
The season after ace Roger Clemens left in the so-called twilight of his career, the Red Sox signed another Boras client, starter Steve Avery, to a two-year deal on Jan. 22, 1997. Avery was the fourth wheel of the Greg Maddux-Tom Glavine-John Smoltz Hall of Fame trio from Atlanta but he was unable to come close to filling the shoes of Clemens.
The Sox signed a key piece to their first World Series title on Jan. 10, 2003, when third baseman Bill Mueller came aboard on a two-year deal with an option (picked up). The following Jan. 7, they signed a second key component, closer Keith Foulke, to a three-year deal.
Others joining the Red Sox fold in January include starter Frank Viola (1992), infielder/outfielder Wil Cordero (1996), center fielder Coco Crisp (2006), outfielder Cody Ross (2012) and first baseman Mike Napoli (2013).
The month of February has been far colder than January when it comes to key acquisitions, but three of the four from the last 40 years stand out.
Kevin Millar joined the Sox on Feb. 15, 2003, after complicated and prolonged
negotiations with the Chunichi Dragons Japanese team where the first baseman/outfielder had been headed.
Without Millar, who worked a leadoff walk in the ninth inning of winor-die Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS and Mueller, who drove in Millar’s pinchrunner, Dave Roberts, from second base to tie the game the Red Sox went on to win, the first World Series title in 86 years is hard to imagine — another nod to
the power of late offseason signings.
Before the Millar deal, the Red Sox selected starter Bronson Arroyo off waivers on Feb. 4, 2003. Arroyo was one of the five starters who never missed a turn in the rotation in the Red Sox’ 2004 World Series drive.
The Red Sox signed Drew on Valentine’s Day in 2007. By October of that year, Drew was a key contributor to the team’s second title in four years.
The spring training month of March has seldom brought notable names to the Sox. But Sandy Leon, purchased from the Washington Nationals on March 30, 2015, after fellow catcher Christian Vazquez was injured, has been an important contributor for the last three seasons.
The Red Sox traded for Dennis Eckersley on March 30, 1978, and eight years later, DH Don Baylor arrived in a trade on March 28, 1986, ahead of the run to a World Series.
So, if Martinez arrives at some point between this morning and the last day of spring training, the surprise would not be so much about the timing of the deal — better late than never is always the case when it comes to filling a need. What will be surprising this year is to see the Red Sox strike such a big deal so late in the baseball calendar.
They just haven’t done that before, and that counts as more strange than slow.