Boston Red Sox: 12 Dream Free Agent Pickups for Sox

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The Boston Red Sox need to start making moves to get back into the AL East picture before it is too late.

The market may be thin at some positions, but there are plenty of players who are available that can get this team moving in the right direction.

The Sox need outfielders, infielders and pitching, and there are 12 free agents who could make a difference in 2013.

Cody Ross. RF

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Ross is a very key player for the Red Sox going forward.

In 2012, he mashed 22 home runs and drove in 81 runs and that was while playing only 130 games. If he is healthy for at least 150, then the Sox could be looking at someone with 25 and 90 as a stat line over the next several years.

Plus, it doesn't hurt that the 31-year-old has a swing built for Fenway.

Jason Bay, LF

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Another great hitter at Fenway, the Red Sox need to look at Jason Bay as the starting left fielder in 2013.

His contract would not be that expensive since he has struggled in a New York Mets uniform since joining the Mets in the 2010 season. He has averaged about nine home runs and fewer than 100 games a season with the Mets.

His best year came in 2009 with the Red Sox with 36 homers and 119 RBI. Coming back on a two-year deal based on incentives would be a real help, but only if the Red Sox have a backup plan.

Mike Adams, RP

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Mike Adams is a strong weapon out of the bullpen, and the Red Sox need some depth from their bullpen in 2013.

Adams has averaged a 2.28 ERA in his career. He may be 34 years old and had his worst ERA in his career since 2004 with a 3.27 ERA in 52.1 innings pitched, but he has the potential to be a solid setup or middle relief kind of pitcher for the Sox.

Joe Blanton, SP

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Blanton has not finished with an ERA under 4.00 since the 2007 season with the Oakland Athletics, but he still would make a great starter for the Red Sox in 2013.

He could be a fourth or fifth starter for a couple of seasons, making between $6 million and $10 million per season. That would be an ideal lower-end starter for the Sox going forward.

Stephen Drew, SS

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Jose Iglesias is not yet ready to take over the starting shortstop job for the Red Sox, and bringing in another shortstop is a necessity for the Sox.

Stephen Drew is the kind of guy who can reach double digits in home runs and steals. Plus, he is not too shabby defensively. He is two years removed from a 2010 season in which he hit 15 home runs and stole 10 bases. If he could stay healthy, then the Red Sox would be in for a treat.

Scott Feldman, SP

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Feldman may not be a top-of-the-rotation guy, but he has the stuff to be a good pitcher for the Red Sox. He has not been healthy since his 2009 season, when he finished with a 17-8 record and a 4.08 ERA in 189.2 innings pitched.

Last season, he started 21 of his 29 games and struggled with a 5.09 ERA. This could mean a cheap one- or two-year deal for any team that wants to sign him, and the Sox should look at him as an option.

Mike Gonzalez, RP

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Gonzalez is a left-handed pitcher who could help the Sox bullpen in 2013.

It would not cost much to sign the lefty, but he has struggled in recent years in the AL East when he was with the Baltimore Orioles in 2010-11 with an ERA north of 4.00 in one-and-a-half seasons.

Edwin Jackson, SP

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Another solid starting pitcher, Edwin Jackson is a cheaper option whom the Red Sox could sign for two years at the most.

He has more than 180 innings pitched each season since 2007 and has remained healthy for most of his career. He could be a solid end-of-the-rotation starter for the Sox.

Adam LaRoche, 1B

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One of the few good first basemen on the market, Adam LaRoche made a brief six-game appearance with the Sox in 2009 and struggled at the plate.

After having the best year of his career statistically, with 33 homers and 100 RBI, La Roche is looking for a three- or four-year deal worth between $40 million and $45 million. The Sox could shell out that kind of money, but with LaRoche being 33, it is tough to say that that it is worth it.

Marco Scutaro, SS

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Scutaro was traded to the Colorado Rockies from the Red Sox before the 2012 season, but that doesn't mean a reunion could not happen in the 2013 season.

After playing 95 games with the Rockies, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants, who won the 2012 World Series thanks to his help. He won NLCS MVP and hit .362 and drove in 44 in 61 games with the Giants, not including the playoffs.

Sure, most of those games were at second, but the 37-year-old can still bring it at the defensive end.

Mike Napoli, C/1B

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One of the best options for power this offseason, Mike Napoli would be the perfect fit for the Red Sox at first base.

In only 108 games in 2012, Napoli hit 24 home runs and drove in 56 runs. Sure, that is not a lot of RBI, but he is about to enter his prime at 31 years old.

Kyle Lohse, SP

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Lohse has been great the last two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Red Sox need to sign the 34-year-old to bolster their starting rotation in 2013.

The right-handed starter has the potential to be a double-digit winner, and he could have won 20 games in 2012, but he finished 16-3 with a career-low 2.86 ERA in 211 innings pitched.

The Sox need another veteran in the rotation, and Lohse has to be that guy.