“But you always find a way…
To keep me right here waiting.”
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Red Sox might be closing in on signing a Japanese superstar free agent.
Yeah, I know, we’ll believe it when we see it…
Boston’s brass finally had its long-awaited meeting with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (along with a long list of other suitors) and has reportedly put an offer of $300 million on the table for the 25-year-old right-hander.
If indeed that is true, it’s a positive step in the right direction. Craig Breslow’s front office certainly didn’t get so far with Shohei Ohtani as to make an offer that is truly competitive with market value (let alone any offer that we know of at all..).
It’s one thing if the Red Sox are willing to break the bank for a player and that player refuses. In that case, well, sometimes there’s truly nothing you can do if a player prefers another situation, a warmer market, etc.
But there’s been no excuse for the Red Sox refusing to make legitimate offers for baseball’s top talent in recent years. When was the last time John Henry’s team paid top dollar to a player from outside the organization? David Price? Chris Sale? Despite the former’s attitude issues and the latter’s declining health, both were good signings — because they helped you win a World Series.
(And I’m not counting Trevor Story, who is a good player and far from a bargain-basement deal, but did not rise to the level of “top of his class”).
Has the fear of making bad deals scared Henry and Company away from being as active in the talent acquisition department as they once were? It sure seems that way. Here’s the thing: once you reach the end of the line, almost every big money deal doesn’t turn out to be “good value.” But if it speeds up the process of getting you back to where you want to be — being a good team — then it’s well worth the money. Especially when you can always eat a large portion of that deal to get out of it.
If Henry is no longer willing — or no longer able — to do that, then it’s time to explore selling the team to someone who will. Signing Yamamoto to the second-biggest deal of the offseason would go a long way to dispel that notion and begin the slow process of putting Henry back in fans’ good graces — if that’s even possible at this point.
A Merrifield Christmas in Boston?
You better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout, I’m telling you why… Whit Merrifield (may be) coming to town.
The 35-year-old free agent said in a recent TV appearance on MLB Network that he still prefers playing second base over other spots. Which is a good thing, because it turns out the Sox could use somebody to man that position…
Boston has even reportedly made contact with Merrifield this offseason (make of that what you will).
But Merrifield’s versatility — he spent nearly an equal amount of time in the outfield last season, primarily left field, as second base — is always a plus and fits in well in the day and age of lineups that are constantly tweaked nightly and mid-game to accommodate for better matchups.
Nevertheless, he’s a three-time All-Star who still swings a good bat, batting a respectable .272 and driving in 67 runs one season ago with the Toronto Blue Jays. Defensively, he committed four errors and sported a .987 fielding percentage across 84 games at second base in 2023.
A game-changing signing at this point, he isn’t. Spotrac lists Merrifield’s market value at nearly $6.5 million. At that price, he would be a fine addition to the lineup and give the team a serviceable defender at second.
Better than baseball
I’ll admit it, much of our coverage in the media business can skew negative — especially when the team you cover isn’t doing anything worthy of praise. But there’s a lot of good that happens in sports that often gets buried beneath the more headline-grabbing controversial stories.
Triston Casas finding himself as a human being is one of those good things. As chronicled by Alex Speier at the Boston Globe, Casas recently gave back to the community as part of a holiday caravan to aid various hospitals and charities.
“Baseball is great, hitting home runs is good, and winning World Series is even better, but giving back to the community and somehow making an impact in somebody’s life is better than those things,” Casas told Speier. He went on to say that he’s struggled finding his purpose in life beyond baseball and wants to “use this platform for good.”
Good on you, Triston. Deeds and words that are truly worth of celebration. Some things in life are bigger than sports, bigger than baseball.
One of the fun parts of the job that often goes underreported is watching the young individuals you cover flourish into adults. I think of watching the transformation of Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum to a quiet and shy rookie to a confident young man in his dealings with us in the press corps.
I remember watching Casas when he was first called up to the big leagues. As we would wait for that night’s starting pitcher or star of the game in the clubhouse, Casas would be standing or sitting nearby at his makeshift call-up locker. We would occasionally exchange glances, and it seemed as if he was uncomfortable with the prospect of being around or talking with reporters. Which, hey, is totally understandable. There’s a nuance to that is perfected through experience.
To watch that once unsure rookie becoming more sure of himself and gaining perspective in life is a cool thing to witness — and that deserves more of a spotlight.