On the same day that Theo Epstein was introduced in Chicago, Ben Cherington was introduced in Boston as the new Red Sox GM. In his press conference, he dropped a startling bit of news: pitcher John Lackey, who has struggled during his two year tenure with the Red Sox, would require Tommy John surgery. Based on typical recovery time for a Tommy John patient, he probably won’t pitch at all in 2012.
Let’s summarize the two year career of Lackey in Boston.
-A 5.26 ERA in 375 innings
-264 strikeouts, 128 strikeouts, 38 home runs, and 436 hits allowed
-A fried chicken and beer scandal
-Zero playoff berths
-A divorce involving a cancer stricken wife
-$36.75 million paid out (including signing bonus)
-$45.75 million in remaining salary
There is a bright side, Red Sox Nation…Epstein had the genius idea to write into Lackey’s contract that if he missed significant time for his elbow injury (which the Red Sox apparently knew about going into the deal) over the life of the contract, then the option for 2015 on his contract would be for the league minimum salary. So congratulations Red Sox, in 2015, you’ll have a 36 year old former All-Star starting pitcher under contract for the league minimum if you really want!
Now what’s this going to do for Boston’s offseason plans? I’m not sure it alters them a lot. The team has Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz under contract for next year. Daisuke Matsuzaka is also under contract, but he’ll miss at least the season’s first three months recovering from Tommy John himself, and who knows where he’ll be when he’s able to pitch again. Could the team drag Tim Wakefield back for another year? The team has an option on Andrew Miller, but he was so bad that I don’t think there’s much of a chance that he returns in the major league rotation. There really isn’t much immediate help on the farm aside from Kyle Weiland, who didn’t impress much in a brief stint in the majors.
You know what that means….Cherington is going to have to try his hand in the free agent market. CJ Wilson and (possibly) CC Sabathia are the best options there, but who knows if Boston is willing to pony up for those guys. With JD Drew and David Ortiz also free agents this offseason, Boston has some possible holes they need to plug. Cherington’s debut offseason as Red Sox GM will be a trying one for a franchise that hasn’t been used to losing very much over the last decade.
