Boston Red Sox: 10 Players They Must Pursue to Fix Clubhouse Mess

There is often a temptation to react to an adverse situation with decisions that seek to match in intensity those that brought one to the precipice in the first place. 

To be sure, the Boston Red Sox need some adjustments this offseason, but they're not going to just walk into the locker room and tell everyone that ever picked up a beer or missed a workout to pack their stuff and get out. It's not going to happen, and all the hand wringing and outrage over the season's catastrophic end won't change that. 

There will be changes, though. There are existing members of the Red Sox who have contracts that are expiring, and there are plenty of other baseball players who will be on the open free agent market this winter as well. Who should the Red Sox realistically target? How many new faces need to be brought on board? How much of a sea change is needed for this 90-win team that missed the playoffs by one game? 

To be sure, the Boston Red Sox won't get all 10 of the following players, but perhaps the right mix of some of them may provide the spark needed to take this team from winning 90 games and watching postseason baseball to winning closer to 100 and winning postseason baseball instead? 

CJ Wilson

I know what you're thinking. C.C. Sabathia is going to be out there and the Red Sox have to go after him. I agree; the Red Sox do have to go after him. They're not going to get him, though. They can't outbid the Yanks, and the Yanks absolutely cannot afford to be outbid by anyone for Sabathia's services this offseason. He's got them right where he wants them, and it's going to yield a big payday for him. 

That brings me to C.J. Wilson. All Wilson has done since becoming a starting pitcher at the beginning of the 2010 season is get better. First, he moved up in the Rangers rotation to become the No. 2 starter behind Cliff Lee. Then, Lee left for Philadelphia, so Wilson became the No. 1 starter on the 2011 Rangers team that wouldn't even make the playoffs, because without Lee, they had no pitching. 

Except they did have pitching. They had C.J. Wilson. All Wilson did in just his second season as a starter in the majors was tie for the American League lead in games started with Cy Young favorite Justin Verlander with 34. He also was an All-Star. Wilson finished 16-7 with a 2.94 era and 206 strikeouts. 

On a Red Sox team in which durability seems to be a primary problem for their pitching staff, Wilson's ability to not just go strong through the entire regular season but do so pitching in a ballpark known for being a hitters park and in the midst of a historically hot summer in Texas seems to be the right mix of qualities the Red Sox need to add to a pitching staff without a workhorse. 

Just as the Yankees are not going to allow Sabathia to be pried away, the Rangers are likely to be very aggressive in their bidding to retain Wilson. Yet the Red Sox do have the financial where with all to eventually outbid Texas should they deem it necessary. The past few season's pitching struggles may in fact deem it so.

Clubhouse dissension aside, the starting pitching collapsed down the stretch this season. Did a few beers have something to do with it? I doubt it, but unless Wilson is showing up his 16-win record with a 12-pack of beer, there's little to make me think he'd do anything but improve both the staff and the clubhouse in turn.  

Bring Back Big Papi

There are plenty of free agents on the current Red Sox roster. Many of them won't be brought back, and that may be for the best. Here's one that should be back, though: David Ortiz. 

Go ahead, draw up a list of positives and negatives. Then, when you're done, take a look at how the positives win that battle. Yep, Papi was part of the collapse. He slumped. At times, he didn't play that smart, and he sure didn't get too many big hits down the stretch. He wasn't alone in those qualities. Here's what the other players on the Red Sox who played poorly down the stretch this past season don't have going for them. 

- Finished fourth in the American League in OPS. 

- Led all DH's in Home Runs, OPS and walks. 

- Won ALCS MVP in 2004

- Numerous walk-offs 

- Basically a Red Sox Legend.

Not a terrible resume all things considered. Now, of course, should Ortiz ask for some sort of totally outlandish amount of money, all bets are off, but one could probably say the same thing about almost any free agent on the market. 

Yes, Ortiz will likely command money that would make him among the highest paid DH's in the league. He's one of the very best, though, so that would seem logical. In addition, unless the Sox plan on acquiring a third baseman and moving Youklis to DH, there's no reason to expect that the Red Sox could acquire a different DH for that much less money and expect similar production.

Re-signing Ortiz allows the Red Sox to maintain some links to the 2004 and 2007 hey days without sacrificing quality at the position.  

Michael Cuddyer

Regardless of the who the Red Sox sign or don't sign, the 2012 team won't lack for superstars. The Red Sox are a team with plenty of star power. There's always room for a guy like Michael Cuddyer, though. 

An 11-year veteran who has spent his entire career playing various roles for the Minnesota Twins Cuddyer is a player who offers up position flexibility. He's primarily an outfielder, specifically a right fielder. That's important since JD Drew's run in Boston is almost certain to be ending. It's very likely the Red Sox will choose to allow prospects Josh Reddick and Ryan Kalish to battle for the position. It's also not out of the question that one or both them experiences some bumps and slumps throughout a first season in Fenway as the starting right fielder. 

Cuddyer would be a more than adequate fill-in. He also has played first base, second base and third base over his career. While there's plenty of chatter about trying to ship Kevin Youklis out of town due to his injury prone nature, a better and more likely solution might be to keep a guy like Cuddyer on the team and allow Youk some nights off. Of course, if Youklis did get hurt, then Cuddyer could start for a period as well. 

Cuddyer won't be a high-profile signing, but he also won't be an outrageously expensive signing. Teams that win usually have guys like Cuddyer on the bench. They play various roles, offer solid but not spectacular production and seem to be willing to adjust to whatever role the team needs. The Red Sox,  and all teams, could use a guy like that. 

Jason Kubel

Jason Kubel would be an interesting signing. Kubel, who will turn 30 in May of 2012, is a solid right fielder who would probably experience a lift in his offensive production by leaving the vast expanses of pitching friendly Target Field in Minneapolis for the more cozy confines of Fenway Park.

Kubel has flashed some power in Minnesota, and last season, he lost over 60 games to injury but still managed to launch 12 home runs in only 366 at bats. That still comes out to over 20 for a full season, and that's playing in Target Field a place where home runs seem to magically become warning track fly outs.  

He'd only be a potential signing if the Red Sox either chose to not allow Josh Reddick or Ryan Kalish to fight for the right field position if one or both of those players were dealt in the offseason. While that seems unlikely given the Red Sox's propensity for not dealing young, homegrown talent, recent events seem to suggest that nothing is totally out of the realm of possibility. 

Kubel's most major negative is that he's a left handed hitter. That's something the Red Sox have more than enough of. That doesn't mean he'd be a bad signing, but it does mean that the Red Sox might look somewhere else if they were inclined to grab a free agent to man right field next season. 

Nick Swisher

Nick Swisher is one of those guys you hate if he's not on your team. For Red Sox fans, he offers up an extra incentive for dislike. He plays on the Yankees. 

Maybe not for long, though. The Yankees may have a bit of a surplus in the right field department. They also have a likely free agent in C.C. Sabathia who will command astronomical money this offseason. That might make Nick Swisher the odd man out.

Swisher has been very good for the Yanks, but they have an emerging offensive superstar in Jesus Montero, who came up in September and offered up plenty of evidence to suggest that he's ready to be a productive everyday player on the 2012 Yankees. Where they'll play him is the big question.

Montero is a catcher by trade, but the Yankees have Russell Martin signed through the end of the 2012 season. Martin is coming off a good season behind the plate, and even though it's only one more year until the catcher position may be open in New York, Montero is not the guy most likely to take the position.

In a league that has a shortage of catchers, the Yankees have an excess. In addition to Montero, who is known for his bat, the Yankees also have young Austin Romine, known more for his glove, on the cusp of being big league ready. Should Romine falter, the Yanks could conceivably opt to give 19-year-old Gary Sanchez, who could be the best all-around catcher of the three prospects, a shot in 2013.

The Yankees aren't letting Montero go, though. He's been a deal breaker in many midseason deals. A polished hitter that seems a good bet to hit for both power and average, Montero is poised to be an offensive star, and the Yanks will get him into the lineup. Right field may be the best destination for him, and that would leave Swisher on the outside looking in.

Swisher is a player cut right out of the mold that the Red Sox have always been drawn to. He's a switch hitter who plays hard and works counts. His batting average always seems low, but his on-base percentage always seems high. His glove is solid, and his attitude is one of a fiery competitor that leaves it all on the field.

As mentioned before, there is a high likelihood that the Red Sox will opt to allow either Josh Reddick or Ryan Kalish to assume right field duties next season, but if that is not the path they elect to take, then Nick Swisher just might be the best guy to man right field in 2012.  

Jonathan Papelbon

Papelbon and Ortiz are both player with decorated Red Sox histories who are both burdened by the recent Red Sox collapse.

Both players share something else in common. They're both the best free agents available at their respective positions this winter.

Sure, Jose Valverde had a much better season than Jonathan Papelbon did. It was just one season, though. Valverde was perfect for one season, going 49-for-49 in save opportunities without blowing even one. An amazing season to be sure.

Still, Valverde, who is actually two years older than Papelbon, has had bouts of inconsistency throughout his career. His earned run average is higher by nearly a full run; his WHIP ration is higher as well. There aren't too many reasons to choose Valverde over Papelbon, and it's unlikely that money will present itself as a compelling reason since Valverde is coming off a fantastic season and is also coming off a positive postseason as well. 

To allow Papelbon to walk, the Red Sox would have to either commit to Daniel Bard, which seems fairly risky given the manner in which he deteriorated down the stretch this past year, or the Sox would have to spend almost as much money to go out on the open market and get a proven closer such as Heath Bell, Jose Valverde or Ryan Madson, none of whom have superior numbers or postseason track records to Papelbon.

If the Red Sox want to enter the 2012 season with stability and a proven commodity at the closer position, then their best bet is already on the roster.  

Marco Scutaro

The Red Sox shortstop position isn't exactly a model of stability. Since Nomar Garciaparra was dealt at the trade deadline in the summer of 2004, the Red Sox have won two World Series titles. They've also had Orlando Cabrera, Edgar Renteria, Alex Gonzalez, Julio Lugo, Jed Lowrie, Nick Green and Marco Scutaro among an endless revolving door at short. 

The best of them? Marco Scutaro. Make no mistake about it, he's not exactly Derek Jeter. Then again, he's still about the best the Red Sox have had since the position was vacated, and as an added bonus, he has an option the Red Sox can pick up for only six million dollars in 2012. 

Jed Lowrie is another guy on the current roster that the Red Sox could turn to, but he's been only mediocre on defense and is extremely injury prone.

The Red Sox do have a very highly touted prospect in their minor league system in Jose Iglesias. The general consensus on Iglesias is that while he may already have Gold Glove major league ability, he's woefully far from being prepared to hit big league pitching day-in and day-out. If the Red Sox are of the opinion that Iglesias would benefit from another full season of minor league ball, then picking up Scutaro's option would seem like a no-brainer. 

He would give the Red Sox stability at what has traditionally been an unstable position without weighing the Sox down with a long term deal a-la Julio Lugo or Edgar Renteria. That would allow them to let Scutaro walk following the 2012 season if they felt that Iglesias was ready to assume full time duties. 

Allowing Scutaro to walk, on the other hand, means the Sox will have to roll the dice on a crew of similarly underwhelming shortstop free agents such as Rafael Furcal, Ramon Santiago or Yuniesky Betancourt. Or, they could pursue one of the big two shortstop free agents, both of whom will arrive in Boston with much fanfare, but also with plenty of the same potential pitfalls that have plagued Red Sox free agent signings for the past decade. 

Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins both have great numbers, and if you looked at the back of their baseball cards, it would seem like a no-brainer to pursue one of them. Rollins won the National League MVP award back in 2007, but since then, his numbers have been consistently dropping off while his injuries have been steadily increasing. 

Some team will be spending 100 million dollars or more to acquire, or, in the case of the Mets re-acquire the at times spectacular services of Reyes. The shortstop will be playing in his 10th major league season next year, but he's still only 28 years old. That seems young, but Reyes' chronic injury problems suggest it's not as young a 28 as some may think. 

His talent remains unquestionably among the best of all major league shortstops, but his high price tag and endless string of nagging injuries (Reyes hasn't played in more than 133 games since 2008) would seem an odd choice for a team that has had their own issues with health for the past few seasons. Bringing Scutaro back looks better and better all the time. 

Rafael Betancourt

Experience, ability and an acceptance of their role. Managers, teammates and fans love those types of guys. Rafael Betancourt might be a nice addition if he could be signed for a two year deal. 

Betancourt, who will turn 37 in 2012, has been one of baseball's better late inning guys over the past nine seasons. He was fantastic in Colorado last season, appearing in 68 games, sporting an earned run average of 2.89 and a WHIP ratio of 0.866. Those were all great numbers, but his career numbers are solid as well, and he also does that one thing that late inning guys often need to do. He strikes guys out. 

The closers generally come into games in the ninth inning, no one on base and no one out. A clean slate. It's the seventh and eighth inning guys who often enter games with men on base and a slim lead hanging in the balance. Strikeouts are huge in those circumstances, and Betancourt had 73 in 62.1 innings last year.

For his career, he has 600 in 560 innings pitched. Those are good numbers, and while they'll cost more money to attain than other middle relief guys, they could be signed, for all a Red Sox fan need do is envision Matt Albers entering a game with runners on base to rationalize spending a little more money on a guy like Betancourt. 

Edwin Jackson

It seems like Edwin Jackson has been bouncing around the majors for quite sometime. That's true. He just completed his ninth regular season at he big league level. Jackson has a dazzling array of pitching talent. He has a mid-90s fastball and compliments it with a slider, as well as a change-up. 

He's not exactly a model of consistency, though. That's a big part of why Jackson, who is still only 28 years old, has played for six major league teams since breaking in with the Los Angeles Dodgers back in 2003 at the age of 19. 

The Red Sox, who have repeatedly been burned by overpaying for past performance, could opt to pursue Jackson and instead bank on him being a late bloomer type of player. Jackson is a bit of an anomaly in major league baseball. Most players, especially pitchers, don't arrive in the major at the age of 19 after just over two seasons of minor league ball. That's the path that Jackson travelled though, and it likely impacted his developmental curve. 

Now 28 and pitching on baseball's grandest stage, Jackson is going to get plenty of attention this coming Sunday when he gets the ball to start game four of the World Series. If Jackson goes out and dominates what is unanimously considered to be a very strong Texas Rangers lineup, then his offseason could end up much more lucrative than he could have dreamed of just three months ago, when he was pitching for the Chicago White Sox. 

Like all free agents, Jackson's likelihood of wearing a Boston uniform next season is directly related to his expectations with regards to his next contract. The market for starting pitching will be set by C.C. Sabathia and C.J. Wilson.

Jackson won't get a deal in the same neighborhood that those two starters will receive, but he could end up with a decent deal this offseason because he's still young, seems durable and has no-hit potential, which he displayed in 2010 when he was pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks by hurling a no-hitter.

The game showcased the best and worst of Jackson's ability. He went the full nine innings. He threw 149 pitches and allowed no hits or runs. He had six strikeouts but issued eight walks. Jackson was wild and dominant all at the same time.

Would a Red Sox team that needs to upgrade its starting pitching be willing to invest some money into a pitcher like Jackson in hopes that he could harness his talent while squelching his bouts of wildness? They might, and since Jackson is still only 28, it could have a big payoff down the road as well.   

C.C. Sabathia

Well, he had to appear on here somewhere. Start with the precedent that the Red Sox have only a very slim chance of actually acquiring C.C. Sabathia. That may be the case, but they'd be nuts to not at least make an effort, right? If for no other reason than to force the Yankees to pay even more for Sabathia than they already want to, the Red Sox must pursue C.C. 

He's a five time all-star, a Cy Young winner and he was the No. 1 starter on the 2009 World Series Champion New York Yankees. If you're one of those Sox fans that feels that the Red Sox have a leadership void, then Sabathia comes with a reputation for being a very positive clubhouse presence as well. 

He won't be cheap. In fact, it's entirely likely that for the Red Sox to have a legitimate shot at Sabathia, they're not just going to have to pay a lot; they're going to have to overpay to get Sabathia in a Sox uniform. It just might not be the type of money that the Red Sox are prepared to spend on one player who, in spite of being relatively durable to this point in his career, is the owner of a physique that won't ever be accused of being "built for the long haul."

They still have to go after him, though. He's not going to opt out of his contract to not listen to other teams and see what they have to offer. The Red Sox starting pitching broke down in September and is going to enter the 2012 with a slew of question marks. A Sabathia acquisition would answer many of them. 

Who is the No. 1 starter? C.C. Sabathia

Who gets the ball to start a big playoff series? C.C. Sabathia

Who is the one player the Yankees can't replace should he depart this coming offseason? C.C. Sabathia. 

See, they've got to at least make an effort. You can't win if you don't play. 

The Big Names They Won't Go After

There are two free agents on the market this coming offseason who are monster names. The Red Sox will likely be linked to them at various points in the negotiations, but I'd be shocked if their interest was anything more than tepid or even somewhat exaggerated by the player's agent in an attempt to increase the bidding. 

Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols represent two of baseball's premier power hitting free agents to hit the open market in recent memory. For a team like the Red Sox that already has plenty of power, as well as an MVP caliber, gold-glove first baseman named Adrian Gonzalez signed for the next seven seasons, the last thing an uneasy clubhouse needs is some sort of "turf war" regarding either the cleanup spot, the first baseman position or any number of various overlapping dynamics that could result from signing either one of these larger than life sluggers.

Even if the Red Sox were to part with David Ortiz, thus creating a slight drop in power as well as opening up the designated hitter position, the arrival of either of these guys could cause as many problems as they could solve. The price tag would be outrageous. A contract in excess of 150 million dollars seems very much in reach for both of these guys. Someone who is a very good first baseman would have to move to designated hitter, and that means that the Red Sox would have spent over 150 million dollars on a designated hitter because the current first baseman is signed to a seven-year, 154 million dollar deal.

Both Fielder and Pujols would be very attractive additions from a statistical standpoint. A glance at their numbers and then the addition of cozy Fenway Park and guys such as Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and Carl Crawford batting ahead of them conjures up visions of 14-3 Red Sox victories as the rule, not the exception.

Yet in order to spend on those guys ,the Red Sox would be forced to fix their pitching on the cheap and forced to patch up the bullpen on the cheap. Those were the areas ultimately most responsible for the team's undoing this past season. Fielder or Pujols in a Red Sox uniform is a nice dream, but that's all it is.