Heading into the off season the Red Sox have a couple areas they need to address. The biggest thing Theo needs to do is add a power bat. Theo also needs to look into getting a new short stop and another starting pitcher. By adding a couple solid pieces this off season the Red Sox should be in the hunt for the 2010 World Championship.

Looking at the free agent pool there are two big options the Sox could bring in for a power bat, Jason Bay and Matt Holliday. Bay has already turned down a contract offer from the Sox for $60 million for four years. It would probably take something in the $17-18 million per year for four to five years to get Bay to sign but he may be worth it seeing as he has proved himself in Boston. Holliday is the scarier option of the two because he could be more expensive than Bay having super agent douche bag Scott Boras as his agent and he has yet to prove he can play in the AL. Sure he had a great 2^nd half with the Cardinals but was less than stellar while playing for the A’s. Signing Holliday, being a type A free agent, would also mean the Sox would have to give up a 1st round pick which they value highly. If the Red Sox are unable to sign either of the highly touted left fielders they should take a long, hard look at Jermaine Dye. Dye may be getting older but he definitely has a lot of pop left in his bat hitting 27 home runs in 2009. Having traded for Jeremy Hermida, he should be able to fill in nicely in left when Dye needs a day off.

When it comes to adding a starting pitcher this off season I see three options that would work well with the Red Sox. Option number one would be Rich Harden. Sure he has had some injury issues but he has a lot of upside if he stays healthy. If the Sox can get him without committing too much money this would be a great signing. Another low risk high reward guy the Red Sox could take a look at would be Ben Sheets. When he is healthy he has some of the best stuff in the majors. If they could sign him to an incentive based contract it would be a great signing for the Sox. A third option I see for the Sox at starting pitcher would be Erik Bedard. This is a guy who was expected to do big things for the Mariners and didn’t live up to the hype. I am sure the Red Sox could sign him to a relatively cheap contract. One good thing about Bedard is that he has proven he can pitch in the AL East being a former Oriole.

Short stop will definitely be the hardest position to fill. Bringing back Alex Gonzalez and having him share time with Jed Lowrie may be the most attractive option out there. I don’t really think the Sox should sign Marco Scutaro because he is getting older and personally I believe he isn’t all he is cracked up to be. One guy I would sign if Seattle ends up letting him go would be Jack Wilson. He has a great glove and an above average bat.

Hopefully the Red Sox can fill these positions with good baseball players and we will get to relive the magic of the ’04 and ’07 seasons.

-Willy