Boston Red Sox's Free-Agency Shopping List

The Boston Red Sox started their rebuilding process halfway through the 2014 season, but there's still plenty of work to be done before the 2015 campaign.

The Sox welcomed a lot of talent to their organization during 2014, with players like Yoenis Cespedes, Rusney Castillo, Joe Kelly and Allen Craig all joining Boston through trades or free-agent signings. But Boston lost a ton of talent, too, and it’ll need to recoup some of its losses in free agency this offseason.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, they have significant financial flexibility—WEEI.com's Alex Speier estimates they'll have around $52 million to spend this offseason—and face a free-agent market that correlates fairly well with their biggest needs.

That means the Sox are well-poised to serve as big spenders over the comings months. Let's take a look at where they're most likely to spend their money in an attempt to compete once again in 2015:

Two Starting Pitchers

As we're all well aware of by now, the Red Sox are in dire need of two or three additions to their starting rotation for 2015 and beyond.

By trading away Jon Lester, John Lackey, Jake Peavy and Felix Doubront midseason, the Sox began their rebuild for 2015 early, and those deals could pay—or have already paid—dividends in some way. But such moves also left Boston's rotation awfully thin and led to some tough outings from young players down the stretch.

It's safe to assume that Clay Buchholz and Joe Kelly will occupy two of the five spots in Boston's rotation next year, but after that, it's pretty much a crapshoot. Perhaps Boston will let its bevy of young starters battle it out for the No. 5 spot, but that still means Boston needs a front-line and mid-rotation option before 2015 begins.

It just so happens that there are three consensus front-line starters on the market in Lester, Max Scherzer and James Shields.

Scherzer figures to be the most highly compensated of the three, and given Boston's hesitancy to extend Lester this season, it doesn't seem likely it'd go after the Tigers' co-ace.

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

That leaves either Lester or Shields as the most likely target. Lester is younger and has proved himself in Boston but is likely to require a bigger deal while Shields is older and will still require a significant investment but likely will need to settle for a much shorter contract.

And while it's fun to fantasize about the Sox signing both of these talented pitchers, WEEI.com's Rob Bradford reported in mid-September that such a scenario is quite unlikely.

In addition to nabbing one of the market's premier pitching options, the Red Sox need to add reliable depth to their starting five, too.

Names like Francisco Liriano, Justin Masterson, Brandon McCarthy, Jason Hammel and Ervin Santana would all make some sense. The Red Sox also have a tradition of going after high-risk pitchers and offering them incentive-laden contracts, which means Josh Johnson (if the Padres decline his option), Gavin Floyd or possibly Josh Beckett could be in play, too.

Boston is likely to be quite active in the trade market this offseason, so it's possible it could look to fill one hole in its rotation via a deal rather than through a second signing. But the Red Sox need to come away from this offseason with at least two or three new starters, and they have money to burn in free agency.

A Third Baseman

The Red Sox face an interesting quandary when it comes to how to best occupy the hot corner in 2015 and beyond.

Boston has two talented, relatively young players in Will Middlebrooks and Garin Cecchini on the roster as well as a capable fill-in third baseman in Brock Holt. The problem, of course, is that the Red Sox can't be confident that any of those players will perform well in a full-time capacity in 2015.

Middlebrooks has been a massive disappointment since his promising rookie year, hitting just .227/.271/.425 in 2013 and .191/.256/.265 in 2014. He's battled through injuries, yes, and his right-handed power is intriguing. But he can't be relied upon as a starter in 2015.

Plus, Middlebrooks and the Red Sox just had a strange, public disagreement about whether the 26-year-old should play baseball this offseason. Boston publicly encouraged Middlebrooks to play in the Arizona Fall League, but as ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes noted, Middlebrooks has elected not to play in an attempt to get healthy instead.

We shouldn't read too much into that disagreement, but it's clear that the Sox and Middlebrooks aren't on the same page.

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

Cecchini, meanwhile, looked impressive in his brief MLB stint near the end of the year but had an up-and-down season in Triple-A. He'd provide the type of left-handed balance the Red Sox need in their lineup, but it's probably best to let him hit his way out of Pawtucket rather than trust him with a big league job out of camp.

And Holt was one of the best stories of the 2014 season, but he's best left as a super-utility player rather than an everyday starter. While his overall 2014 line of .281/.331/.381 looks promising, the reality is that Holt hit just .258/.312/.347 over his last 76 games after a fast start.

That means Boston very well could turn to the free-agent market to try and strengthen its lineup and get more production out of the hot corner in 2015.

If the Sox decide to go for a modest upgrade in the hopes that one of Middlebrooks or Cecchini will prove himself at some point, they could look to Casey McGehee or Jed Lowrie. Neither are world-beaters, but both will likely provide more than the Red Sox got from third base in 2014.

However, Boston could also justifiably decide to allocate a significant portion of its available financial resources into third base and make a much bigger splash.

Chase Headley isn't the player he used to be, but he's a good defender, a switch-hitter and provides a modicum of offensive upside. Spending a full season out of Petco Park could do wonders for his bottom line, and it's possible he could be signed for a two- or three-year contract, as Charlie Wilmoth of MLBTradeRumors.com pointed out.

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Pablo Sandoval would likely require a more substantial financial commitment, but he's a more consistent offensive player. The 28-year-old hit .279/.324/.415 in 2014, and he could potentially play first base or serve as Boston's designated hitter down the line after a few more years at third base.

And if the Sox truly want to gamble on upside, Hanley Ramirez is slated to hit free agency, too. He's injury-prone, yes, but he's an absolute offensive force when healthy, and it would be neat to see him play out his career in Boston, where it all began.

It's quite possible that the Sox try to trade for a new third baseman instead of signing one, but if they decide to go the free-agency route, they'll have options.

Bullpen Help

While the 2014 Red Sox were a disaster, their bullpen work has become somewhat underrated. Red Sox relievers finished the season with the 12th-best ERA and the third-best wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, despite losing Andrew Miller at the trade deadline and experimenting with plenty of young players.

That being said, the bullpen could face significant changes in 2015. Miller is gone, Koji Uehara and Burke Badenhop are free agents, and the Red Sox face a difficult decision on whether they'll pick up Craig Breslow's option.

That leaves Junichi Tazawa, Edward Mujica and Tommy Layne as the only surefire 2015 bullpen members. The Red Sox will likely turn to their internal pitching options for some relief, perhaps converting one or two of the Rubby De La Rosa/Allen Webster/Brandon Workman/Anthony Ranaudo/Matt Barnes quintuplet into bullpen arms.

Manager John Farrell has already come right out and said the team would like to keep Uehara for 2015, but there's a good chance the Red Sox will need additional help, too.

Fortunately, the market is rife with closing, setup and middle reliever options.

The Red Sox generally stay away from lengthy reliever contracts, but if they decide they need a new linchpin to close out games, David Robertson, Casey Janssen, Jim Johnson, Jason Grilli, Francisco Rodriguez and Sergio Romo are all available and all have recent closing experience.

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

If Boston decides it needs a new setup man, they could look to re-sign Miller or go after Luke Gregerson, Pat Neshek, Jesse Crain, Jason Frasor or Joba Chamberlain. And the next level down, the Sox could re-sign Badenhop or target the likes of J.J. Putz, J.P. Howell, Joe Thatcher, Matt Lindstrom and Jason Motte among others.

Odds are the Sox stay away from long-term deals for relievers, but they'll have plenty of chances to improve their bullpen regardless.

A Backup Catcher

This is certainly a less pressing need than any of the positions mentioned above, but the Red Sox will need to cap off their offseason spending spree by adding a backup catcher to the mix.

The Sox will most likely head into 2015 with Christian Vazquez as their starter; in fact, as the Providence Journal's Tim Britton reported on Monday, Farrell said he'd be "very comfortable" heading into 2015 with Vazquez as his primary catcher.

It's not hard to see why the Sox would want to stick with Vazquez. He's already among the best defensive catchers in the league, and there could be more in his bat than what he showed in 2014. Still, it would behoove Boston to find a more offensive-minded complement to Vazquez should his bat not take a step forward next season.

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

Incumbent backup backstop David Ross will be 38 next year, and while he's a competent defender and a well-respected game-caller, he hit just .184/.260/.368 in 2014 and failed to mash against lefties as he's done for much of his career.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox, the rest of the market offers slim pickings. Russell Martin is the only starting-caliber backstop available, and the other names are fairly uninspiring.

John Buck hit just .225/.289/.281 in 97 plate appearances with the Mariners and Angels while Wil Nieves hit .254/.270/.344 for the Phillies. Gerald Laird is another defensive-minded backstop while Ryan Doumit is a catcher only in name. And it's pretty tough to see the Red Sox turning back to A.J. Pierzynski given what a train wreck he was in Boston in 2014.

That leaves Geovany Soto as perhaps the most attractive backup option on the market, and the Sox very well could decide they value Ross' leadership and knowledge of the pitching staff over the marginal upgrade in offense they could see with Soto.