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Guardians DFA Hurler With Strong Track Record; Red Sox Would Be Logical Fit

Boston could use a high-upside depth arm
Scott Neville|
Guardians DFA Hurler With Strong Track Record; Red Sox Would Be Logical Fit
Guardians DFA Hurler With Strong Track Record; Red Sox Would Be Logical Fit

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Boston Red SoxCleveland Guardians

The priority for the Boston Red Sox this time of year will be to go star shopping as new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow aims to make a splash in his first offseason at the helm.

Breslow rightfully has placed a heavy emphasis on starting pitching, which has linked the organization to frontline hurlers such as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Aaron Nola and Sonny Gray.

Any of those additions would be highly impactful and have the team well on their way to a rebuilt rotation. With that said, it's also important to have depth -- injuries derailed Boston's pitching staff over the last couple of seasons and the players called upon to fill in were unable to step up. 

For that reason, it would make sense for Breslow to halt his search for the next ace for a few minutes to throw a waiver claim in on a high-upside starter who just became available.

The Cleveland Guardians designated right-hander Cal Quantrill for assignment on Tuesday to make room on the 40-man roster for players who needed to be protected from the Major League Baseball Rule 5 Draft, the team announced.

Quantrill has had a far fall from grace. The No. 8 overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft had generally been living up to the hype through his first four seasons in the big leagues. Quantrill entered the year with a career 3.54 ERA, a respectable 369-to-130 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .249 batting average against and 1.21 WHIP in 471 innings across 113 games (75 starts). 

The 28-year-old posted a 115 ERA+ in that span and appeared to be well on his way to being recognized as a strong frontline starter in the league. Then things unraveled a little. 

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Quantrill posted a 5.24 ERA with a 58-to-35 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .279 batting average against and a 1.47 WHIP in 99 2/3 innings across 19 starts in 2023.

The right-hander's walk rate and batting average allowed increased and his strikeout rate dropped. That said, his velocity and overall ability appear to be intact. His pitch usage has changed notably since his 2020-2023 stretch, where he posted a 3.08 ERA.

The Red Sox would be wise to get Quantrill in the building and have him work with Breslow's esteemed pitching development program under new pitching coach Andrew Bailey. 

Quantrill is the perfect waiver claim to take a shot on and hope he can return to his peak performance. If so, he'd be a mid-rotation weapon for Boston. If not, they cut him essentially free of charge.

More MLB: Red Sox 'Close To Hiring' Highly-Coveted Former Player To Coaching Staff

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Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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