The more that emerges about the Boston Red Sox’s plans this winter, the harder it becomes to temper excitement.
The Red Sox have an obvious need for starting pitching, and they were quickly linked to all of the big names in early reports. With the Winter Meetings approaching, optimism seems to be growing that the Red
A fairly clear “big three” has emerged from the rest of the free-agent starting pitchers, both in terms of expected contracts and recent track records. It’s possible others may join them, but Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, and Blake Snell are the only three locks to get $100-plus million contracts.
A while back, it would have been surprising to hear that the Red Sox were in the thick of negotiations for any of those three. Now, as it turns out, Boston may not even be satisfied with landing only one of them.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Red Sox are hoping to sign two of the big three starters, including at least one lefty (Snell or Fried). Nightengale said that no team is “boasting about their plans” like the Red Sox, especially to agents of players on the market.
“This is why they met with Soto, told everyone how well it went, and informed agents that they not only want to sign one of the marquee free-agent pitchers in Corbin Burnes, Max Fried and Blake Snell, but actually want to sign two. They are adamant on signing at least one lefty between Fried and Snell,” Nightengale said.
If that wasn’t enough to stir the pot among Red Sox fans, Nightengale quoted an anonymous general manager who believed Boston could already be on the verge of signing one of those three starting pitchers.
“They have been so outspoken about their intentions,” the GM said, “there’s no way you talk that way unless you’re absolutely sure you’re signing one of those guys. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see them announce they’ve got one of those guys pretty soon. They’re pretty confident.”
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