Red Sox hot stove heating up

I’m not gonna lie. In all my years following the Red Sox, this was by far the worst November I can remember (as far as their season goes).

I could say nothing happened–and I wouldn’t be far off. They didn’t get anyone. They didn’t even sign an obscure Minor League Free Agent like Jeff Bianchi or Shunsuke Watanabe. Just Esteban Quiroz, who is really a AAA depth player if you ask me. Other than that, they just added five dudes to the 40-man roster and Doug Fister signed with the Texas Rangers. Really predictable stuff. But hey, it’s the offseason, so let’s take a look at some rumors–and none of those stupid middle school ones.

This didn’t really move the meter for me Wednesday like it should’ve…

chisox have been in active talks with red sox and others on star 1B jose abreu. boston was 1 of 4 finalists for abreu when he signed with chicago (milwaukee & houston were the others).

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 29, 2017

But then this came out Thursday.

Some rival evaluators believe the Red Sox and Astros may be best positioned in the discussions for free agent reliever Mike Minor. Both teams have a need for a lefty.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 30, 2017

OK. So that led me to Tweet “*Pours gasoline on hot stove*” because that is really interesting.

Let’s be honest, the Red Sox probably aren’t getting Giancarlo Stanton because this isn’t a dream, it’s real life. Also, telling you right now that they’re not getting that Ohtani dude either. As the Canadians say: soorey. However, there’s two pieces that would make the Red Sox a better team in those Tweets.

The Red Sox really do need a left-handed reliever. Robbie Ross Jr. elected free agency. That leaves the team with Robby Scott and Brian Johnson as their only left-handed relief options. I don’t even want to spend time explaining why that’s not ideal. You should know why.

Mike Minor, who happens to be left-handed, had a 2.55 ERA and struck out 88 batters in 77.2 innings last season. That’s good. Dependable. Get Henry Owens on the first plane to Kansas City (except that trade wouldn’t work). Honestly though, might as well go for it. Dave Dombrowski only breaks right-handed relievers (sup, Tyler Thornburg and Carson Smith?), so maybe a lefty works?

And then there’s Abreu. That’s a .300 hitter who hits 30 home runs per year. One has to wonder if the Red Sox can put together a package for him, then by whichever God you may or may not prefer, they should do it. Tanner Houck? Jay Groome? See ya! The Red Sox can’t develop pitchers anyways. But they have a solid team, Hall of Fame manager and need some power–and they need it NOW!

These actors are like the opposite of wicked pissa, so we’ll stop there.