The Offseason

In order to put themselves in position to have a chance to win the World Series in 2007, the Red Sox must:

1. Upgrade their bullpen: While the Red Sox have already missed out on many of the most promising free agent relief arms (not that the market was plentiful), there is still an opportunity to upgrade what I believe is their biggest weakness. The Red Sox recently found what appears to be a bargain when they signed Japanese set-up man Hideki Okajima. They believe he will be used as either a set-up man or a lefty specialist for the 2007 season. Jonathan Papelbon's exit from the closer role (he will start in 2007) creates a big hole in the Red Sox bullpen that will need to be filled. Mike Timlin and Julian Tavarez will be returning, but both struggled mightly at times in 2006 and will need to rebound. Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen are still promising young arms but both experienced growing pains in their rookie seasons. The Red Sox appear to be exploring closer options via trade as well as free agency. Eric Gagne should be considered. Gagne hasn't seen much action in the last couple of seasons, but everybody knows what he can do when he's healthy. An incentive-laden deal wouldn't be too incredibly risky. Roger Clemens could also do the job, but the odds of him agreeing to do so are not particularly great.

2. Sign Daisuke Matsuzaka: The consensus among Major League scouts is that Matsuzaka is as good as advertised and should be a major force in the MLB. He has been described as a #1 or #2 starter and some scouts claim that he throws 9 pitches and locates them all very well. After winning his rights from Seibu for $51.1 million, the Red Sox will need to sign him by December 15th or his rights are returned to Seibu and the Red Sox get their posting fee back. Regardless, the Red Sox need a big upgrade in the rotation and Daisuke Matsuzaka could very well be a step in the right direction. They should attempt to sign him to a long-term deal as they will have already invested a great deal of money on him. Hopefully, Jonathan Papelbon will continue his dominance as he transitions to a starter role and Josh Beckett can rebound from his worst year in the Major Leagues. All of these pieces falling into place would give the Red Sox a formidable starting rotation of Curt Schilling, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon, and Tim Wakefield with Michael Bowden, Clay Buccholz, Daniel Bard, and Jon Lester waiting in the wings.

3. Sign JD Drew: The Red Sox offense struggled down the stretch last year and they need a boost. JD Drew is an on-base machine who would likely either hit 2nd or 5th for the Red Sox next year and will provide another big bat to go with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, which leads me to my next point.

4. Keep Manny Ramirez: This is one of the best hitters to ever live, his production is irreplaceable. He has his quirks, but his production makes him worth the headache. If the Red Sox do trade Manny, they need to get a very good reliever who could potentially close in return (Francisco Rodriguez, Scot Shields, Chad Cordero, Jonathan Broxton) as well as a couple of top prospects.

5. Sign Julio Lugo: The demand for Julio Lugo doesn't appear to be too incredibly high at this time and if the Red Sox can ink him to a 4 year, $32 million deal, they should do so. Although his defense is below average, he is a good hitter who can potentially hit leadoff and steal some bases. Lugo would fill the void at shortstop for the Red Sox who could them move Dustin Pedroia over to 2nd base.

6. Bring back Roger: Either as a starter or a closer, the Red Sox should bring Clemens back to Boston to finish out his Hall of Fame career. If he comes over as a starter, the rotation will look even better. Tim Wakefield could then move into a relief role where he has been very successful in the past.