Red Sox sign established starter Jhoulys Chacín
(Photo: Tom Haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) |
With major league rosters expanding this Sunday and David Price already returning, the Sox didn’t just look within the organization for help. With the offense rolling and Alex Cora’s bullpen finding answers, the Red Sox recognized the hot streak by getting a well-travelled arm despite missing out on big names at the deadline. On Saturday, Boston signed 10-year veteran Jhoulys Chacín to a minor league deal.
Red Sox announce Chacin move. Minor-league deal.— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) August 31, 2019
Chacín may not have the eye-popping numbers of an ace, but an acquisition like this can only have positive upside. After working out for the Red Sox in a bullpen session, Cora downplayed the details of Chacín’s repertoire, which essentially features a sinking two-seamer at 90 mph and a slider with proven ability to be a strikeout pitch. He has a career 4.00 ERA entering today, but has put up a solid season as recently as 2018 -- yeah, that’s literally last year. In 2018, Chacín went 15-8 with a 3.50 ERA in 35 games started for the Brewers. Oh, by the way, in a small sample size of postseason appearances, in just over 12 innings, he has only given up 2 ER, with one of those outings giving the Brewers a lead in the NLCS.
While the surface-level appeal is not exactly ravishing, the Sox are getting versatility, experience, and most importantly another healthy arm. For a team that is searching the streets for a starter or long bullpen arm after already scheduling Saturday to be a bullpen day, if you’re going to take a shot on someone who has recently been released, why not take it on someone who started on Opening Day this year?
The Sox, by no means, have to decide the immediate future for their new weapon right away. However, it’s inevitable that there will be discussion about giving Chacín starts right away, met with some thoughts on stacking the bullpen.
About 5 GB and making moves that can only help -- tell your friends, tell your grandparents, the wild card game is still a thing.
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