Michael Wacha Open To Returning To Boston In 2023?
Michael Wacha has been an unsung hero in what’s going to turn into a lost season for the Red Sox. After signing a one year contract this past offseason, Wacha has put together a beautiful stat line (3.2 WAR, 8-1, 2.28 ERA, 1.036 WHIP in 15 starts). Not bad at all! You will take that for $7 million.
For the record, I was in favor of this signing. If you did your homework, you noticed that Wacha really changed up his pitch mix late in the 2021 season with the Rays and was lights out after. At this point, you have to at least try to bring him back for 2023, right? It would make a ton of sense to hit Wacha with the qualifying offer if he continues to finish the rest of the year strong.
At this point, I’ve lost confidence in Chaim Bloom so who the hell knows what’s in the cards? If it’s up to Wacha, it sounds like he would love to return to Boston next season:
“Yes, most definitely,” Wacha said. “For sure, yeah.”
“I haven’t really thought about it like that,” Wacha said. “There’s still a lot of games left to be played. And that is kind of stuff that I can’t really control right now. I try to leave that stuff for the offseason. But as far as how I’m liking Boston, I’m loving it here. The staff here is amazing. The players on this team have become really good friends of mine, and I just jell really nicely with them and get along with everyone. Just really good ballplayers and a good team. I love it here. The fans are great. Getting to play in front of a packed stadium every night is something that should never get taken for granted. It’s a very cool place to play. Putting on this Red Sox uni is something I’ll always remember, for sure.”
The Red Sox will also have a decision to make on James Paxton as well. Paxton is being shut down for the season after tearing his lat. Paxton has an odd contract where the Sox can either pick up the team option for two years at $26 million total or decline it and turn that option into a player one that he can pick up for $4 million OR become a free agent with a $1 million buyout. That was too long of a sentence so go check his spotrac page instead to get the full breakdown.
