Boston Red Sox 2014-15 Winter Offseason - bayers3's Dynasty

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Boston Red Sox 2014-15 Winter Offseason

Posted on June 18, 2014 at 11:36 PM.

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THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)

Another year, another World Series Title. An absolutely amazing season from Jon Lester and the early-season additions of Chris Archer and Shelby Miller were probably the extra push this team needed to repeat. It's hard to be called a huge underdog after finishing 98-64, but the Dodgers seemed almost unbeatable all season. It was shocking to see Clayton Kershaw pitch so poorly, the Kershaw-Greinke duo was supposed to be like the Johnson-Schilling one-two-punch that helped Arizona take down the Yankees in 2001, but it never came to be.

While it was incredibly tempting for management to double down in this roster, they had to make some hard decisions that were not popular with fans. GM Ben Cherington was reticent to speak openly during the winter meetings, but considering their finances and age of players involved, most saw the writing on the wall.

2014-2015 FREE AGENCY

The biggest winter headline was Boston declining to re-sign Jon Lester after a record setting season. They did make a one-year qualifying offer for $11.4 million, but everyone knew that Lester would decline the offer and hit the market after a contract year for the ages. The Red Sox made the offer only to claim draft pick compensation, and the Detroit Tigers were happy to help them out again.

In total, the Red Sox made qualifying offers to three players, and only Koji Uehara (39 years old) accepted the offer. Boston did not want to re-sign Uehara to a long term deal and took the risk of paying him $11.4 million for 2015. As a whole the risk was worth it, with Jake Peavy being signed away and landing Boston an additional pick in the 2015 draft.

Losing Lester will hurt, but the draft pick is more valuable

2014 Qualifying Offers

Jon Lester (Declined) - Signed $37.8 million / 3 Years, Detroit Tigers
Jake Peavy (Declined) - Signed $33.7 million / 3 years, Toronto Blue Jays
Koji Uehara (Accepted)

In addition to the qualifying offers, Ben Cherington had to decline offering contracts to some fan favorites who played important roles in their two-title run. OF's Daniel Nava and Jonny Gomes were not offered contracts, and David Ross was also not offered a multi-year deal. Boston gambled on Ross, hoping the market would shake out so they could bring him back on a shorter deal, but he ended up signing with the Chicago White Sox on a two-year deal.

Management focused their off-season spending on extending the contracts of players already on their roster. Boston didn't spend a single penny on a player not already on their roster, with the biggest contract handed out to Xander Bogaerts. These contracts were a clear sign that a rebuild is completely under way, and that more changes were to come in spring training and after the 2015 season.

Bogaerts cashes in on a good 2014 season

2014 Contract Extensions

Shelby Miller - $12 million / 6 years
Xander Bogaerts - $25 million / 10 years
Jackie Bradley Jr. - $7 million / 6 years
Will Middlebrooks - $2.63 million / 4 years

Rule 5 Draft

Boston reshuffled their roster to get all of their biggest assets on the 40-man roster in preparation for the Rule 5 Draft. It actually wasn't all that difficult with so many on the 40-man leaving during free agency, but it was an important move to protect their future. Luckily for Boston, the Phillies decided not to take the same steps, and left RHP Braden Shipley (AAA Lehigh Valley) unprotected. Shipley, a Top 50 prospect, was traded from the Diamondbacks in the Cole Hamels deal. The Red Sox were more than happy to snag him and let him work out of the pen for the season and option him down to AAA in 2016.

Finances

The Red Sox made minimal moves outside of resigning their own players, the only new addition came in the scouting department with the addition of Eric Casto. Casto now joins Boston's expansive international scouting arm, a focal point for Boston going forward, and hopes to bring in the next David Ortiz or Xander Bogaerts.

The Red Sox walk out of winter with a payroll just over $98 million, and some big chunks of that are about to come off. Dustin Pedroia ($26.9 million) is Boston's most expensive player by far, and nearly 1/3 of the payroll. David Ortiz ($11.7) and Koji Uehara ($11.4) are the next most expensive, and their contracts expire after the 2015 season. Victorino ($10.4) and Napoli ($9.8) round out the bulk of the bill, and they also come off the books after the 2015 season. Cherington has made no moves to extend any of them, so it's very likely that Boston could walk into the 2015 Winter Meetings as a big spender ready to gear up for another title run or two.

2014 Notable Retirements

The Red Sox didn't have anyone retire, but the game of baseball lost some all-time greats this year. Some cited age, some said they just couldn't play on the highest level anymore, but they will all be missed.

Derek Jeter (NY Yankees) - 41, 20 Seasons
Ichiro Suzuki (NY Yankees) - 40, 14 Seasons
Jason Giambi (Cleveland Indians) - 43, 20 Seasons
Hiroki Kuroda (Minnesota Twins) - 39, 7 Years
Raul Ibanez (LA Angels of Anaheim) - 42, 19 Seasons
LaTroy Hawkins (Miami Marlins) - 41, 20 Seasons