The Orioles were among the teams most frequently tied to Ranger Suárez before the southpaw signed a five-year deal with the Red Sox. He commanded a $130MM guarantee to slot behind Garrett Crochet in the Boston rotation.
Baltimore was seemingly in a similar range. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that the Orioles are believed to have made an offer around $125MM. It seems likely that would also have been a five-year proposal at approximately $25MM annually.
It’s an offseason footnote at this point. Suárez got a slightly better deal to join an AL East competitor. The Orioles wound up turning to Chris Bassitt on a one-year, $18.5MM deal to build out the rotation. Bassitt should be a solid mid-rotation presence, while the O’s took a higher variance swing on the trade market. They sent four prospects and a draft pick to the Rays for Shane Baz in December.
The Post report doesn’t specify when the Orioles made their offer to Suárez. He didn’t sign with Boston until a month after the Baz trade. The O’s pursuit of high-end starting pitching extended beyond the Baz trade, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if their offer came at a similar time as the Red Sox’s one that got the deal done. Baltimore signed Bassitt three weeks later.
Until last offseason, the Orioles had not signed any players to a nine-figure deal under president of baseball operations Mike Elias. They weren’t entirely averse to such commitments. They reportedly offered Corbin Burnes four years and $180MM before he signed with the Diamondbacks in 2025.
They hadn’t actually signed any free agents for even $50MM+ until their Winter Meetings splash to add Pete Alonso for five years and $155MM. They were evidently willing to add another significant deal to the books. Suárez would also have been the O’s first free agent signee under Elias who had rejected a qualifying offer (thereby costing the signing team a draft choice).
Baltimore will open the season with a front five of Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Baz, Bassitt and Zach Eflin. They’ll probably go with a six-man rotation to also keep Dean Kremer in the mix as long as everyone gets through camp healthy.
Bartsimpsonyoutriedcake.png
What?
Astros – It’s a still of Bart Simpson holding a cake with “At least you tried” written on the top of the cake.
Oh. I guess it’s supposed to be an image but it didn’t load. I first read it as youdried, not youtried.
I wish I could post a link to the image without the mods throwing a fit
I wish we could see photos.
Astros – At least we can embed videos :O)
No Suarez for you!
I mean that really has no bearing at this point. I would’ve loved to have the guy or Framber. But Bassitt on a one year is an acceptable fail safe deal. Not what I wanted, I feel like a top of rotation arm was a huge necessity. But it doesn’t mean the offseason was a complete bust, especially compared to last year.
Ranger was a panic move, if Bregman had stayed in Boston then Ranger would have gone to the O’s.
Only time will tell if it worked out well for the Sox, or for the O’s.
You don’t like the Suarez signing? I see it more as Plan B. Similar to the Yankees losing Soto and moving in on to Fried right away.
YBC – I said at the time of the signing I liked it. Sure it was an overpay, but at least they spent some of the money they saved on Devers/Bregman/Hicks/Giolito/Buehler/Hendriks. It improved the team, I’m always for that.
All I’m saying is they had to sign SOMEONE after missing out on literally every single MLB free agent they pursued. Every report indicated the Sox were confident Bregman was coming back, they didn’t have a backup plan.
The difference with Fried is the Yanks would have signed him even if they had signed Soto. Cole was out for the season and Gil wouldn’t be ready until August.
I agree with Sabermetric. The panic move would have been a massive overpay in a trade like the orioles did with Baz. Ranger is an incredibly successful pitcher in the playoffs. Which is something we needed desperately.
The O’s gave up a nice package for Baz but he’s going to pop this year. I find it likely both teams will be happy w/ that deal when we look back.
There’s always that possibility too. He’s got the stuff. I just like the prospects they moved a lot, wish they left the division. Worth noting the rays are very good at these types of trades historically
Sean – The Baz trade was early in the offseason, Dec 19 to be exact. If it hadn’t worked out, there would have been plenty of other options for the O’s.
Have you checked out baz home and road splits last year? Basically outside of that joke of an mlb stadium rhe rays played at he was very, very good last year
He was worse at home yeah but I think you should have a look yourself if you think the away splits are anything more than very, very mediocre.
The Rays haven’t had the same level of success in awhile in trades. The Paredes deal was a definite loser. Jason Adam trade was an L. The Eflin return looks far less promising today.
But yeah. I do like their package. Forret is a pretty safe backend major league starter for 2027 & beyond. They got a comp A & Bodine who has a chance to be an average catcher down the line. De Brun was essentially another 1st rounder with his bonus paid.
That package could wind up being fat. I thought Baumeister was the next heist but his stuff really backed up last year.
FPG: “Every report indicated the Sox were confident Bregman was coming back,they didn’t have a backup plan.”
“The difference with Fried is the Yanks would have signed him even if they had signed Soto.”
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Yet again you make wild assumptions you have no way of knowing. Two good examples here.
Sports fans use the word “panic” far far more often than it actually applies, from what I’ve seen.
redsoxu – Perhaps, but in this instance the evidence is overwhelming.
He was far from a panic signing. Breslow knew the Sox needed pitching yesterday, then went out and got it.
Can – I’m happy to discuss the facts that squarely point to this being a panic signing.
1) Breslow began the offseason by stating a front half of the rotation pitcher was a priority. He then acquired Sonny Gray and referenced that priority had been filled.
2) Breslow then said acquiring a solid hitter was now the priority.
3) At that point they already had Sandoval, Crawford, Early and Tolle to fill the two back end of the rotation spots. Any other SP addition would be a luxury, not a necessity.
4) Red Sox were overly confident Bregman would be returning. If they had signed him, their CBT payroll would have been around $255M-$260M. They insisted they did not want to go over the $264M threshold which involves much heavier penalties, therefore they wouldn’t have signed someone like Ranger if Bregman had returned.
5) The backlash after losing Bregman was immense. Fans, national media, local media, even Red Sox on air personalities were criticizing the Red Sox for not having signed an MLB free agent this offseason.
6) Red Sox came to an agreement with Ranger less than 4 days after Bregman agreed to join the Cubs.
So what do you have to support your belief Ranger was a planned signing all along?
Fever Pitch Guy
3 hours ago
1) Breslow began the offseason by stating a front half of the rotation pitcher was a priority. He then acquired Sonny Gray and referenced that priority had been filled.
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Sony Gray is currently the Red Sox’s No. 3 , so they needed a No. 2 – Suarez is a good fit.
The rotation of Crochet, Suarez, Gray, Bello, Oviedo/Early is better than the rotation of Crochet, Gray, Bello, Oviedo, Early.
A starting line for the playoffs of Crochet, Suarez, Gray is better than a line of Crochet, Gray, Bello.
Fever Pitch Guy
3 hours ago
3) At that point they already had Sandoval, Crawford, Early and Tolle to fill the two back end of the rotation spots. Any other SP addition would be a luxury, not a necessity.
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You can’t rely on pitchers coming back from injury to have a full season, so I’d circle Crawford and Sandoval.
Tolle needs to develop his secondary pitches if he wants to be in the starting rotation.
I agree with Early.
He looks like a pitcher who could be a big help in the starting rotation this season.
At this point their rotation looks like this – Crochet, Suarez, Gray, Bello, Oviedo/Early, with Crawford and Sandoval I would be cautious about the predictions.
The Red Sox have starting pitching depth this season, something they lacked last season, and it was a decisive factor in the playoffs.
Giolito was injured, Bello looked tired in the playoffs, and Early is inexperienced.
Remember, you can never have too many starting pitchers.
Durbin is a nice get as a Bregman replacement for 3B. He doesn’t strike out, ever, and he plays solid defense. He’s also young enough to get better at the plate with experience. Even if he doesn’t improve much from last year he’s still a decent contact bat to lengthen the lineup and will be cheap throughout his prime.
Contreras is and has always been a consistently solid hitter who can slug. He’s a lock for 120 wRC+ with 20-25 HRs, which is just about what Bregman has offered for the last 5 years. The main difference, besides defensive position, is that Contreras is significantly less expensive.
They weren’t going to spend stupid money on Bichette (can’t field), Tucker (outfield is overflowing), or Bregman (over 30 and now injury prone, let the Cubs pay market rate for his decline phase). They weren’t going to pry Bellinger from that short porch in New York. The DBacks didn’t *really* want to trade Marte unless they got something the Red Sox couldn’t live without losing. Alonso was chasing the bag, and the Orioles jumped the line, that contract is a vast overpay and once his bat speed dips they’re going to regret it.
The Red Sox are banking on the youngsters Anthony and Rafaela building on their early career samples. They showed off their enormous potential. They should get better with experience. Anthony has 70 grade power!
What they’ve really needed is a deep pitching staff that’s consistently good and can weather the storm if a couple of guys get injured. Something that Bloom failed to do for years, and what Breslow is actually trying to accomplish. Contenders always load up on quality pitchers. Dodgers have like 10-12 guys who can fit in most teams’ main rotations any given year, but that doesn’t stop them from adding more. Red Sox are finally doing the same.
The plan took a while to really flesh out, but in no way did any transaction they make strike me as a panic move. The backlash after Bregman left was pure happenstance and in no way influenced Breslow’s decision making. A panic move would have been going way overboard to outbid the Mariners for 2 years of Brendan Donovan, or sending way too much talent back to AZ for an aging Ketel Marte.
Fever, look at the long-term contractual control over the rotation.
Oviedo had 2026, plus 2027 (if there is a 2027.)
Gray was 2026 only.
Beyond that, youve got the kids. Bello has a couple years left, and, he has promise but we dont know if last year was sustainable or if his prior 3 years are more indicative of what hes going to average out as, and, if hes going to peak as a #3-5. Then promising prospects, but, entirely unproven, or, a handful of back of rotation guys.
Fact is, Sox had *only* crochet locked in as a proven front half of rotation arm.
At some point they needed another guy who was front half of rotation, like Suarez, and who wasn’t just on a single year deal. Stability. Continuity. You cant raid the farm every year to bring in yet another middle of rotation arm on an expiring deal for 1 year. And we’ve seen how the ‘buy an aging vet whose injured and rehab him 1 year, then count on him the second has played out. Multiple times. From Maple to Hendricks to Giolito. At some point you need go out and grab a good arm with 4-5 years to work with.
So, I think Suarez, or a guy like him, was always the plan if they could get him at a price and length of deal they were comfortable with.
Not a panic signing like devers. THAT was a panic move.
GaSox – One of the very few times we’ve agreed on Raffy!
Bello has 3 more years on his contract after this one, but I agree it’s good to have a 3rd front half of the rotation guy.
But there’s no way Ranger or a pitcher like him was always part of the plan. Not unless you believe they never truly had interest in retaining Bregman, because there’s no way they would have signed Ranger if they had already signed Bregman.
And here’s another reason I should have added to my above list: The Red Sox absolutely refused to give a longterm contract to a pitcher in his 30’s after getting burned by the Sale extension. Prior to this offseason, who was the last free agent pitcher of ANY age that has gotten more than 2 years from the Red Sox? I’m pretty sure it was Nate 7 years ago.
So what did they do this year? Give a 5-year contract to a pitcher in his 30’s.
For them to break that organizational policy, it screams “Panic Move”.
Fever Pitch Guy
8 hours ago
So what did they do this year? Give a 5-year contract to a pitcher in his 30’s.
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The situations are completely different seven years ago and now.
In 2019, their starting rotation consumed more than a third of their budget—Sale, Price, Eovaldi, and Porcello—$83.6 million, and their starting pitchers were underdeveloped—they had no healthy, injury-free prospects to replace Sale, Price, and Eovaldi.
Today, we see that with the arrival of Breslow, pitching is developing and we have depth that was not there in 2019.
The Red Sox desperately need a behind Crochet to have a chance of advancing as far as possible in the playoffs.
If Bello, Early, and Tolle continue to improve, the Red Sox will have a very strong and inexpensive rotation for 2027 and beyond.
2027 – Crochet $28.3m, Suarez $26m, Bello $9.15m, Oviedo 3Arb, Early minimum, Tolle minimum.
If Bello, Early, and Tolle are established in the middle of the rotation, it will be the strongest and cheapest rotation in MLB.
Don’t forget that the Red Sox still have young pitchers—Witherspoon, Valera, and Eyanson—who could break through in the coming years.
The pitching pipeline is running at full capacity, so the Red Sox can afford to give Suarez such a contract.
Suarez and Gray are a necessity to compete in the regular season and playoffs this season.
Absolutely no panic reaction.
Can- Maybe take away the word panic and say last minute or unplanned. I agree with Fever that they clearly were focused on Bregman and were likely very confident he was coming back. They had been getting a lot of negative press about not signing any of the free agents they were rumored to be after. When Bregman signed elsewhere they knew they needed to make a significant signing to put the team in a better position to compete for a title. Pitching became the focus and they grabbed Suarez when they were able to come to terms. I don’t think he was in their plans until the last minute when Bregman signed with the Cubs. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t going to improve the team, just that it was not the original plan.
Uncle: I think we largely agree. Maybe the Red Sox had a plan and stuck to it. Apparently they set a value for Bregman and did not move from it. That suggests premeditation and a plan. I think the fact that they did not meet the high asking price for Ketel Marte (or overpay for any bat) shows they having a very disciplined approach where they decide ahead of time (plan) how far they are willing to go in certain direction.
We have no idea if the Red Sox pay any attention to the Boston media. I think they pay attention to revenue and attendance. We don’t know what their revenue is, but their attendance was good last year.
My guess is that they set a price for Bregman and stuck to it. Bregman took another deal. They then saw an opportunity to sign Ranger Suarez at a price they liked and did it. I don’t see anything negative about it.
All- I agree that getting Suarez definitely helped improve the team. I hated to see Bregman not coming back as there were the intangibles with him that you are already hearing about with helping young players on the Cubs. That doesn’t mean that he would actually be better player than what we will get with Durbin. I really like that signing and together Suarez and Durbin likely improved the team more than just Bregman would have. As a whole they have the potential to have a very successful year.
I do hate seeing so many lopsided spring training games due to lack of offense, but I know that a significant part of our offense is taking part in the world baseball classic. Of course it is only spring training and none of the games count, but I still want to see wins as much as possible. I will be looking forward to getting everyone back and get a taste of what the season has in store.
While I doubt the Sox would have signed both I’d hardly call Suarez a panic signing. Panic would have been trading the farm for something short term or a wild overpay and this was not a wild overpay.
This signing was more of a pivot, a change in tactics and the trade for Durbin ended up being a move in the same direction: run prevention.
I’d heard all the criticism of Suarez and still think he’s worth the gamble based on his playoff numbers alone. He and Crochet back to back in the playoffs will be one of the deadliest one-two punches. As for whether or not it’ll work out, well that’s pretty much the issue with any free agent signing.
Sabe – All panic signings are pivots. Panic signings are doing something you wouldn’t have done if prior critical goals had been met.
Sure there’s no way to prove an overpay, but it’s worth pointing out this site usually overestimates contracts and they projected Suarez would get $15M less than what the Red Sox gave Ranger.
Pretty sure ownership gave Breslow $260M to work with for this season. Panic move is having money to spend and a need to prove the money will be spent instead of pocketed. They didn’t need Ranger, but I’m glad they spent the money instead of pocketing it.
Disagree on Durbin, they acquired him because they needed a proven 2B/3B after losing Bregman and most importantly he’s cheap. If they had signed the other Suarez to play 3B they’d have gone over the $264M threshold which they didn’t want to do.
Again, I like both Ranger and Durbin. However the Red Sox would have been a better team if they had used the Ranger money to sign a stud hitter.
I can’t help but feel everyone who keeps saying the Red Sox should have signed E Suarez to play third is under the impression he was the answer to all our problems. Yes he has power but looking at his year to year stats he’s all over the map in what to expect.
Forget that Durbin is cheap and controlled. Fangraphs stats show he’s a better fielder than Suarez which is the point I was getting at.
I think we agree on one thing, offense for us could be a nail bitter. But we have the team we have and I think the Sox had a great offseason overall. I still think we’re better off than we were last year.
Fever Pitch Guy
31 minutes ago
However the Red Sox would have been a better team if they had used the Ranger money to sign a stud hitter.
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Stud hitters are on the Big Papi and Manny Ramirez level, and there clearly weren’t any candidates for that this offseason.
Alonso, Bregman, Bichette, Tucker, and E. Suarez are clearly not up to their level.
The only option the Red Sox had this offseason was Schwarber, but I think his future career was already decided in favor of the Phillies.
So, I don’t understand what outstanding betters you are talking about who could strengthen the Red Sox this season.
Sabe – Without question Durbin is the better fielder, by far. Durbin was around the 10th-best last year, Suarez is among the worst.
And Durbin plays 2B also.
But if we are talking just defense, IKF certainly isn’t worse than Durbin.
FPG: You have no way of knowing from afar whether or not someone did something as a result of a plan or from panic.
To be fair I don’t know if it was plan B or panic to sign Suarez and trade for all of those other players either, but it still ultimately made sense once every move was made.
Polar Bear for Ranger Suraez. Same money(ish), same years, same ages (??). Who says no?
Paul Skenes for a footlong from Giovanni’s with extra gabagool! Tony Soprano style! Who says no?
DON’T STOP- *cuts to black*
The players! And why would the Red Sox need a first basemen? They have Wilson Contreras.
Astros – And a guy named Casas too!
Astros71
32 minutes ago
The players! And why would the Red Sox need a first basemen? They have Wilson Contreras.
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If you’re implying that the Red Sox didn’t sign Alonso to first base, it’s because he’s a poor defender.
The last thing the Red Sox need is another designated hitter.
Breslow emphasizes overall defense.
Third, second, and first base have been problematic defensively in recent years.
I don’t remember the last time the Red Sox had a decent third baseman (other than Bregman last season). Maybe it was Adrian Beltre.
There hasn’t been a decent starting second baseman, since Pedroia.
First base has been problematic since Moreland’s departure.
Contreras, Mayer, Durbin, and Kiner-Falefa have improved the infield’s defensive capabilities significantly compared to previous seasons—these moves improve our starting pitchers and relieve Story of the defensive burden.
We need to look at the problems holistically.
The Red Sox needed to improve their starting rotation and infield. The power bats that were available this offseason clearly don’t fit the defensive spectrum of the philosophy that Breslow is currently preaching defense, not just find a power bat.
I think a lot of people are greatly exaggerating the Red Sox’s offensive problems.
This team will be good unless there’s a rash of injuries this season.
I agree. I thought the RSN was evenly split between adding a big slugger or adding a #2. I thought we needed a #2 plus another SP. IMHO, we can’t go into the post-season with Bello/Early as our #2/3.
JoeBrady
1 second ago
As I’ve already answered, imagine if the Red Sox had Ranger Suarez as their starting pitcher in Game 2 of the playoffs against the Yankees, rather than Bello.
I think the situation could have turned out differently, and the Red Sox’s chances of beating the Yankees would have increased exponentially.
I actually love it. Deal
Hard to believe the Orioles couldn’t/wouldn’t match/beat that final offer to Ranger.
Don’t love Pete Alonzo’s career .100/.357/.200, 0 HR, 7 K, in 28 career PA’s. (Like the postseason number of 1.000 though!)
AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE!
Even though we didn’t get Ranger, the fact that one of the game’s premier power hitters in Alonso signed here is wild to me. The Orioles haven’t signed a guy like that since Albert Belle, maybe Tejada. Chris Davis doesn’t count. I’m optimistic for the future.
Which automatically scares me and makes me expect the worse.
To all O’s fans who criticize Elias for not getting an ace: Corbin didn’t take the Os offer last year, Ranger this year. You can be aggressive as any GM, but it’s ultimately up to the FA.
Plus, if you can’t buy an ace, trade for one! I like the move they made to get Baz. He should develop into a really good pitcher now that he’s had more time away from his surgery.
He’s overrated as hell he’s gonna get smashed in the AL East
It’s been a long time since the Sox had 3 Frontline starters signed long-term and Suarez gives them that. Whether it was a “panic” move is a matter of opinion. I imagine all teams have their “wishlist” board of players they want to sign and when one comes off the board with another team they just move on to the next one
Rsox – I’m glad you’re including Bello in the 3, it makes no sense why some people are so down on him. He pitched brilliantly in the WBC too.
I think people forget how young Bello is and the fact that he hasn’t even sniffed his prime yet. There’s a big breakout year waiting to happen in that arm
Rsox – Well some of the Bello-hate is because his K% dropped last year and because he tired in September/October.
Personally I’m not concerned about the K% and there are ways to improve his stamina.
One of those ways is to add a couple of very good veteran workhorses and take some of the pressure off the kid trying to get established. Bello doesn’t have be “The Guy” right away now.
The team of “the Orioles almost got this guy” would win 115 games.
Elias deserves no credit. His offers don’t land the guys.
It would’ve been way worse if he sat on his hands. He landed Alonso (though I do not love the fit for them), traded a broken Grayson Rodriguez for Taylor Ward, and picked up Baz. They’ve needed starting pitching for a while, sure, but they also tanked on both sides of the ball last year. Elias has had a tough task to right the ship, I believe he did as well as he could with his available resources.
Beer Can – Elias was given unlimited resources. Owner has said 2 years in a row there is no restriction on payroll. The Orioles under Elias will not commit to long term pitching contracts even for the best pitchers. Its not hard to make it look like you’re trying by offering what looks like big money to fans to pitchers who you know are going to go higher. One year of Burnes is all he has to show, and many “almosts” that make him no more effective than you or me.
Ranger is over rated and glad he’s not in charm city.
Soft tosser with balls flying over the green monster.
I think Sox need more bats.
Like O’s chances this year to make playoffs.
Massive overpay for Saurez. Pitches like a Cy Young award candidate the first couple of months of the season, then disappears in the second half of every season when fatigue and his chronic recurring back issues and other injuries set in. Saw it every year in Philadelphia.
Phil – Tell us how you’re bitter about Ranger leaving, without telling us how you’re bitter about Ranger leaving.
He has a career 1.48 ERA in the postseason, and a career 3.38 ERA in the month of August.
You’re 0-for-2.
Lol. What he did in the postseason in the past is irrelevant. Is it automatically 100% guaranteed it will happen again someday? He can just as easily get lit up for 4 or 5 runs in an inning. If a player hits a home run in the postseason, would it definitely happen again just because it did before? He had his good games, and his share of bad games. Anything to be bitter over? Not at all.
Massive overpay
Nice try, though…..
Phil – So your claim of him pitching poorly after May every year in the past is relevant (if it were true), but him pitching well in prior postseasons is irrelevant?
Ignore the past, only if it’s convenient to you ….. fantastic! LMAO!!!
Yeah that makes about as much sense as betting on the Rockies to win the World Series. LOL
You are too funny. Thanks for the laughs. Where did anyone say he pitched poorly after May? Since when is May in the second half of the season? Reading comprehension isn’t a skill for you, is it? He has a history of fatigue and back issues later in the season. Argue it all you want, you aren’t going to change facts. But if you want to tell yourself he will be great again in the post season, go right ahead. Evidently you want to think what a player has done in a past post game whether it’s hit a home run, commit an error, get injured, strike a batter out, get picked off base – whatever it is, you want to pretend it is automatically guaranteed that he will do the exact same thing again lol