Red Sox Reportedly Pursuing Free Agent Starter Zack Godley
BOSTON (CBS) -- As they get ready to start the 2020 season -- or at least an abbreviated version of it -- the Red Sox could use a little help in their starting rotation. So it should come as no surprise that the team has its eyes on free-agent starter Zack Godley.
Boston is one of the handful of teams going after the 30-year-old righty, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Godley, who was released by the Tigers on Monday, is expected to land with a new team in the next few days.
The Red Sox are thin in the starting five in both the short term and the long term, with Eduardo Rodriguez in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19 and with Chris Sale lost for the season (Tommy John surgery). Nathan Eovaldi, Martin Perez, Collin McHugh and Brian Johnson will likely make up the rotation to start the season, leaving Boston with at least one spot available every five days.
Godley could take that spot and eat up some innings, but there's a reason he is a free agent at this juncture. He made 57 starts and threw 333.1 innings for the Diamondbacks in 2017 and 2018, going 23-20 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.305 WHIP, but things went bad in 2019. Last season, Godley posted a 6.39 ERA in his 27 appearances (nine starts) for Arizona before he was designated for assignment in August. The Blue Jays claimed him off waivers and put him in the bullpen, with the righty posting a 3.94 ERA over 16 innings. He signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in December, but was not expected to make the team's Opening Day roster.
But for a Red Sox team in desperate need of an arm or two in its starting rotation, Godley could be a cost effective addition with the season just under two weeks away.
