Crochet’s addition should be a huge lift for Boston and give the club the left-handed star it needs. But, the Red Sox need to compete against powerhouses like the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles in the American League East.
If the Red Sox are going to add another starter, the best option clearly is Corbin Burnes. He entered free agency as the best pitcher available on the open market. It seems very likely that he will land a deal north of $200 million after Max Fried got $218 million from the Yankees.
Will the Red Sox bring Burnes to town in response? There has been a lot of chatter about the two sides, but ESPN’s Jeff Passan’s latest comments could be a bad sign for Boston. He took a look at the free agent and trade markets and gave his latest updates on them.
Passan took a look at Burnes’ market and only mentioned the Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, and San Francisco Giants.
“Burnes’ suitors include the Giants, Blue Jays, and Orioles, and because of his bona fides — four All-Star appearances, a Cy Young Award, and the second-best ERA in MLB over the past half-decade at 2.88 — ruling out others engaging would be premature,” Passan said.
Until Burnes signs somewhere, anything could happen. It’s nice that Passan noted that ruling others out would be “premature,” so a deal isn’t completely ruled out. Boston has the money needed to afford him, but the fact that he mentioned the other three teams instead of the Red Sox could be a bad sign.