Boston Red Sox: Is Mark Buehrle the Most Realistic Free Agent?

The Red Sox will need to start thinking about another starting pitcher for next season, as it would be shocking if they offer Tim Wakefield a contract.

Nearing the trade deadline, Boston made a move to acquire Erik Bedard to try and bolster their rotation, and it's safe to say that was a bad decision. Bedard went 1-2 in eight games in Boston with an ERA of 4.03.

There will be at least two bidding wars this off-season for the right to have CJ Wilson, Yu Darvish and possibly CC Sabathia on your team for 2012. Any of the three would be great acquisitions for Boston, but they are unlikely due to their high values. 

Signing a veteran pitcher might not be the worst option for Boston. The Yankees signed Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia last year and they both proved to have decent seasons. Colon struggled towards the end of the season, but Garcia finished the year with a 12-8 record. This strategy could work in Boston and they could target former White Sox ace Mark Buehrle.

Buehrle has spent his entire career in Chicago, a total of 11 seasons. He has won at least 10 games in every season as a starter, the most being 19 in 2002. 13 wins has been the standard for him over the last three years, and that would be great to have as your fifth starter. 

One of the main strengths for Buehrle is that he is very durable. Last season, he averaged 6.2 innings per game, higher than both Josh Beckett and Jon Lester.

Buehrle is also very consistent from season to season, pitching in at least 30 games every year. His 365 career starts in Chicago puts him in fourth place on their all-time pitching list.

The main problem for Boston down the stretch this season was pitching and being able to go late in the game without giving up a ton of runs.

Buehrle wasn’t very impressive this September either, going 2-3 and allowing 22 runs in 28.1 innings. In two of those starts, he gave up 10 or more hits as well.

The selling point for Buehrle is that he can come to Boston cheaper than many of the other available pitchers on the free agent market. At age 33, he isn’t going to be looking for some kind of mega-deal like Wilson and Sabathia.

Boston should offer him a two-year deal that could earn him around $9 million-$11 million per year. He has been earning $14 million each of the last four seasons for Chicago. Does this make him the most realistic option for Boston this off-season?