The Boston Red Sox are in agreement with reliever Matt Strahm on a one-year deal, per Robert Murray of FanSided (via Twitter). The deal is pending a physical. The contract is worth $3MM, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter).
Strahm spent the past four seasons with the Padres after two years with the Royals, the team that drafted him out of Neosho County Community College in Kansas. The 30-year-old southpaw has mostly pitched out of the bullpen, but he does boast swingman potential, having made 25 starts over his six-year career.
Last season, however, was a bit of a lost year for Strahm. He logged just 6 1/3 innings over six appearances for the Padres, with another three appearances in Triple-A. Strahm missed most of the year after surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his knee. He returned in August, only to land back on the injured list later in the month with knee inflammation.
The contract total, while not at all exorbitant, does reflect an expectation for Strahm to hold down a place in Boston’s bullpen. Before the knee injury cut short his 2020 season, Strahm had posted a 3.66 ERA/4.14 FIP in 196 2/3 innings from 2018 to 2020, so there’s certainly reason to assume the lefty can make an impact in Boston. Strahm joins Josh Taylor, Darwinzon Hernandez, and Austin Davis as potential southpaws available to manager Alex Cora out of the bullpen.
looking forward to some ballpark breaks from Fenway!
I came here to say this lol
Lets Go Redsox!!! Trade Martinez to de NL for good prospect!! Schwarber plus chris Br
If they trade Martinez, I see Devers as DH rather than Schwarber.
Solid pickup for Boston
Agreed. They needed another decent lefty in the pen to go along with Taylor.
Sign Suzuki and Schwarber trade Martinez for reliever and sign one more
Schwarber? Red Sox already have 4 DHs (Verdugo, Dalbec, Devers and Martinez). Why in the world would you want another? Suzuki would be a great fit, but they need a defensive-minded middle infielder much more than another gloveless bat.
Verdugo is a near Gold Glove caliber corner outfielder. His struggles come more in center where he is more adequate. And Suzuki is gold glove caliber
Just looked 3 different sites to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me: Baseball Ref, Fangraph and Baseball Savant — All give Verdugo a negative value in the field. Sure he has much worse numbers in CF, but how do you get “Gold Glove” Corner and “Adequate” in CF?
Also, my point is that Red Sox have plenty of DH types even if you don’t add Verdugo on the list. Substitute his name with Bogaerts then. Point was never “Verdugo” it was Red Sox don’t need another gloveless bat.
The reality is Verdugo is an excellent left fielder probably around average or a little below average in right field defensively. He is not a center fielder and should not be used as such. He seems to have a difficult time reacting to the ball when he plays center. His arm is excellent he has a right fielders arm and his arm alone makes him a valuable defender anywhere but center.
Damn. You don’t really have a clue about the Red Sox.
Verdugo = Not a CF. But an excellent corner OF’er and plays RF at Fenway very well.
Dalbec = 1st base capable
Devers = Still 3rd baseman who they don’t need to move of the position at the moment.
Martinez is the only DH-only player they have that you mentioned.
Schwarber can play LF and I bet he ends up being used at 1B if he re-signs here. He’ll have an actual season to work at the position.
I think youre the clueless one, with multiple accounts.
Verdugo “Gold Glove Caliber” — Never has he gotten a single Gold Glove Vote.
Baseball Reference Rtot/yr
Verdugo Career:
LF: +3 (slightly above avg)
CF: -8 (below avg)
RF: -3 (below avg)
Overall: -2 (below avg)
Where’s the Gold Gloving?
Devers: They desperately need to move Devers off 3rd, not worth going any further.
Dalbec: -12 (below avg) Terrible 1B.
Maybe you’re used to fielders succking, or just a moron who likes to trolll. But they’re all pitiful. They are the reason the Red Sox can’t attract quality SPs. Who would want to pitch with this motley crew behind them.
You should change your name from ‘SoxFanSince1994’ to ‘SoxFanSinceCreatedAcct10MinsAgo’.
Taking all those negatives from his CF play, where everyone agrees he played out of position is really sweet.
His CF play was a lot like that of Ellsbury a few years back, tho do remember a few thinking that guys was ok since he could run to make up for his deer in the headlights look at balls hit to center fairly often.
Funny how that goes.
With Casas ready to come up, you’re going to put Schwarber at 1st???
Verdugo has had +20 DRS, a +1.9 UZR/150, and this was the first season he was below the 67th percentile of outs above average dating back to 2019, his first time at regular playing time in the majors. In both 2019 and 2020, he had a UZR/150 above 7. Definitley wouldn’t say he’s a DH. This was really the first year he’s rated as an average to below average fielder
Where are you getting your numbers mlb1225?
Fangraph
UZR/150 2021: -5.3, Career: 0.8
Baseball Ref
RTot/yr 2021: -10, Career: -0.2
Baseball Savant
OutsAboveAverage: 2021: -6, Career: 3
These are not the stats of a “Gold Glove Caliber” Player. Read the tread thats what was claimed.
Sure maybe I shouldn’t have listed him as DH type. But, that wasn’t my point, it was ‘Don’t sign Schwarber because we have too many DH types already’. Why is there no problem with calling him a “Gold Glover”?
He’s nowhere near a Gold Glover. He’s adequate.
I didn’t call him a gold glover. You saying they have 4 DHs was just false and I proved you wrong. I am a new account. Signed up today. Is that not allowed?
Do you know what you’re talking about Denny?? Don’t make a fool of yourself.
That the Red Sox defense sucked? What are you talking about.
Martinez has at least a limited no trade.
If MLB The Show has taught me anything, Matt Strahm is money.
Awesome, we are set.
Yup. The WS is ours to lose now.
If he can regain his old bullpen form this is a steal for the red sox. The knee injury he suffered in 2020 really messed with him. Physically and mentally. So if he can regain confidence and old mechanics itll be a steal.
Very solid pick up especially if he is healthy. I would have loved the Mets to have gone after him.
Another of Bloom’s favorites, an injured player with “upside” lmao
Over 132 games as a reliever he has a career 2.90 era and has held opposing batters to a .209 batting average.! Just because you don’t know who he is doesn’t mean he is not good. Guys like Strahm are needed on a roster because they save you money you can spend at other positions.
Never said he wasn’t good. Fact is he’s yet another player coming off an injury on the Sox roster and knee injuries can be a recurring issue. Let me know when they spend at other positions, I won’t hold my breath…
Sometimes you have to take calculated risks. The knee surgery was quite some time ago. It’ll be about 18 months since the surgery.
It’s the high strikeout guys he can get cheaply he likes
Meh a depth piece……a solid pickup that’s pretty cheap….the less I see of Austin Davis the better my health will be
Solid point re Austin Davis.
Strahm is a nice addition.
This guy has always intrigued me. He’s always had good stuff & put up some pretty solid numbers, but I felt like he seemed to underperform for his potential, specifically’18-‘20 numbers. Good lefty pickup that could help quite a few teams right now.
Yes, Strahm was buried in San Diego. Sox love their long shot types, but Strahm is intriguing.
Being an even-numbered year, he may do well.
Chaim Bloom’s bullpen acquisitions mystify me. Still unsold a bit in that department but some have fared well. He seems to dumpster dive for cheap, high strikeout guys.
I don’t mind this approach. If you notice, the big contract bullpen guys throughout the league have burned teams quite a bit.
One of the most underrated relievers in the game, and one of the most dominant lefties from the pen when health. Been watching him from the start and never disappointed, just injuries. Good pick up and sad to see him gone from the padres when we’ll need more lefties as is
AJ Preller will now trade his top two prospects to reacquire Strahm and sign him to a guaranteed six year, $70M extension with a no-trade clause and a per game injury bonus of $50,000 per game missed.