The MLB would absolutely HATE this move...

The MLB would absolutely hate this move if the Boston Red Sox were able to pull it off, especially due to the discounted price it may actually be able to happen at. I'm here to break down the Brandon Woodruff conversation and how he could be a very realistic and respectable option to replace Sonny Gray in Boston in the starting rotation as a right-handed starting pitcher due to the fact that it definitely seems like Sonny Gray is going to pack his bags and get out of Boston, opting out of a mutual contract due to how things fell out at the end of this season. We'll break down this Sonny Gray situation and how that opens the door for the Red Sox to go out and make another move and how Brandon Woodruff appears to be one of the better options available, not only because of the production we have seen from him in his career on the mound but also the discounted price for a very scary reason we'll break down all of that on this episode of Red Sox Digest but first please do us a favor we are getting so close to our goal but we can't do it without you guys scroll down and smash that subscribe button help us get to 8,000 subscribers we do appreciate all the love and support so again thank you for everything but Now, let's get to it and break down how Brandon Woodruff is a very intriguing conversation for any team that is looking to compete in Major League Baseball, but specifically the Boston Red Sox. Now, before we get into the entire conversation surrounding Woodruff, I do have to quickly highlight and summarize why it appears Sonny Gray is on his way out of Boston, because the starting pitching conversation gets louder and louder if and when Sonny Gray does pack his bags opt out of a mutual deal this offseason and go elsewhere now the reason it appears like it is more than likely that is actually going to happen if you have not been watching or did not watch the end of the Red Sox season Sonny Gray is pulled from game two of the wild card in I believe the fifth or sixth inning runners on the corners one out he's about to go through the Yankees lineup for the third time in the game why does that matter because post game after being pulled in that situation and the Red Sox put in Eric Miller just to have a bombardment a bombardment of runs being scored against them Sonny Gray made it abundantly clear that he was one not happy with that decision and he made it abundantly clear why he claimed and stated which was a fact that he is the best pitcher in the American League in all of in baseball going through the order a third time which if you look at the stats he's a hundred percent right he's not kidding and I'm going to paraphrase a little bit here but he went on to say I'm the guy I've been the ace all year you live and you die with me but again that was just his opinion i honestly agree with him we've discussed this ad nauseum on this channel since it took place it's infuriating to think about especially when you think they pulled Sonny Gray and didn't put in Ranger Suarez in that situation in a win or go home game in New York trying to extend the series to a third and final game infuriating to say the least but because of the moves that were made and obviously the comments from Will uh Wilson Contreras that were made about Sonny Gray and the amount of analytics and data and reliance on analytics and data in the Red Sox clubhouse is just kind of infuriating it feels like that falling out was the final straw to Sonny Gray who is looking to win a championship in the final years of his career and he is still an absolute monster 18 and 5 a 2.72 ERA this past season he's phenomenal but the big thing that I want to point out because I'm going to make a comparison with Woodruff in just a minute is the lack of fastball velocity despite Sonny Gray only sitting 91 92 maybe 93 or 94 miles an hour on his sinker or fastball he is still dominant he's coming off the best year of his career and that is not a stretch of words Brandon Woodruff could be that guy for the Boston Red Sox and he could be extremely cheap because everyone else may be scared to go out and touch him with a 10-foot pole so who is Brandon Woodruff this past year underlying metrics aren't that bad ERAs in the top percentile whips in the top percentile Ks per nine in the top percentile but you look at the games you look at the total amount of Ks you look at the wins you look at just doesn't check out why is that because the dude can't stay healthy okay he has shoulder problems he has lat problems and things continue to add on top of one another and he never can seem to stay on the diamond for long periods of time in the season we are currently in he only made one start for five point five and a thirds innings and he has a five ERA okay that's not great i understand that in 2022 he started in 12 games went seven and two with a 3.2 ERA but only pitched 64 and two-thirds innings and then in 2023 yes there is a year missing in 2024 because he was down with injury once again and he missed the entirety of the season in 2023 11 games played 11 started he goes five and one with a 2.28 ERA in 67 innings pitched when he's on the diamond he is absolutely phenomenal but the big problem is he can't stay on the diamond just bear with me here we're going to break it all down and highlight everything that's been going on with Brandon Woodruff and why he could be a huge contributor to the Red Sox but first look at these savant pages this is the comparison tool on savant the most recent year did not qualify obviously he only had a game in one game pitch okay but if he would have qualified those are really really good underlying metrics last year again I know lack of 70 innings pitched the metrics are still very good skip 2024 you get to 2023 a lot of those metrics very very good his worst year 2022 where from what is that average exit velocity down to ground ball percentage is below if not just at league average and that is arguably his worst year collectively overall when healthy when he can get on the diamond and when he is present and actually making pitches the dude is simply freaking phenomenal and there's been a lot of injuries without a shadow of a doubt let's look at the timeline now okay october of 23 shoulder capsule surgery underwent surgery on his right shoulder his throwing shoulder yes he is right-handed 2024 he missed the entirety of the season in july of 25 he returned to the rotation he made 12 starts and posted a 3.2 ERA picked up right where everyone wanted to see him at and then in july or july 4th of 2026 he went back down with another shoulder setback exit after velocity dropped later imaging showed a new capsule injury again same injury we saw along the same lines of the same injury you saw back in october of 2023 sidelines him again so now from august of this year to October of this year currently he remains under recovery not great but when he can come back and when he gets on the mound the dude's going to be phenomenal and you see there on another shoulder setback on july 4th of 26 he exited after the velocity dipped incredibly well he actually said this well I think I'm just getting to the point in my career when I really understand pitching I don't need the 98 miles an hour anymore to be a winning pitcher yes Woodruff sat around 97 98 possibly even touched 99 miles per hour on his four-seam fastball when healthy when on the mound and when feeling good but based off of his shoulder injuries that he continues to deal with it feels like he has made it abundantly clear not only to himself but to everyone that will listen he doesn't need it anymore and he feels like his stuff is good enough that he doesn't have to rely on 98 and we see it a lot in today's game despite the overwhelming fastball velocity from all of the big names like Degrom Mizell the list goes on and on and on you guys have you have guys like Nick Martinez who posts a sub-3 ERA and wins 16 games for the Rays throwing 89 to 91 like he it would not be the only guy i already mentioned Sonny Gray 92 93 94 absolute max and that's a full grunt with the shoulder dislocated at the top of the windup i'm exaggerating but you get what i'm trying to say here if Woodruff gave up that fastball velocity and got to the point where he had the ability to take something off of it which would preserve his shoulder his throwing shoulder things could be very very interesting and he could be a very realistic and respectable pickup for the Boston Red Sox as another right-handed arm and really just another arm in general that could come in and be a part of a very daunting starting rotation in Boston that could really be a factor towards the tail end of next regular season to propel them into the playoffs, to add another layer of depth, to add another layer of versatility so they don't have to rely on three, two, three arms to absolutely get the job done in starting situations. The more pitching that you have, the more depth that you have, the better off you can be. Now, Pat Murphy, very, very sharp, very lovable manager, very good manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, went on to say this about Woodruff. Quote, I think it'd be a shame to have his career over when he's got a lot of good pitching left. Stating and making it abundantly clear, he has a lot of faith in this young man, in this pitcher. I shouldn't call him young, he's 33, especially for pitching side of things. But then Woodruff would say, quote, I'm not having a funeral or anything. Again, doubling down on the same idea of his manager with Milwaukee he doesn't feel like he's done yet despite the problems he's run into despite the changes he may have to make with his repertoire and the overall velocity he maintains he's not done and he wants to go out there and get the job done the biggest reason this is a conversation is because if Gray leaves that leaves you Crochet which again we don't know if he will actually stay healthy you have Toley Bennett Ranger Suarez are you going to throw Brian Baio or Jake Bennett as well so are you going to throw Brian Baio in that rotation add the only only righty in that entire situation or Sonny Gray comes back then you have Sonny which would be great but again it doesn't seem all that likely why not go out there and add another right-handed arm even if it's a veteran presence even if he's not someone that's going to collect a bulk of innings throughout the entirety of the regular season I still think it would be a very very good move for the Boston Red Sox and a respectable one at that again let me know down below your thoughts and opinions on the entirety of this move again take into account that a lot of teams may not be interested in Woodruff due to the injury history he's dealt with but despite that the underlying metrics are good and that might check the boxes enough for Craig Breslow to actually make the deal and get it done and again you wouldn't have to make a trade to do it let me know down below a yes but only on an incentive heavy deal or b no prioritize healthier starters let me know down below your thoughts and opinions and i'll see you on the next one thank you for watching