Scott Boras is a businessman, through and through.
He’s out for one thing: success for his clients, and success for himself. What does that look like from a baseball agent’s standpoint? Duh. Money, and lots of it.
It’s with that in mind that we must take what he says this time of year with a grain of salt. Boras wants to drive up business, and what better way to do that than to suggest that teams are banging down the door for the top free agents he happens to represent?
Teams like the Red Sox.
If the super agent Boras is to be believed, then it looks like John Henry’s team will be awakening from its half-decade slumber this winter.
Boras this week tells The Athletic, “In our meetings, (the Red Sox) are definitely letting us know that ownership is committed, that they’re wanting to secure high-level players and that they’re definitely planning on being very active in the free agent market.”
Much like with the news that the Sox will be in on Juan Soto… we’ll believe it when we see it.
Yet as they say, when there’s smoke… there’s fire. There’s always the chance that these rumors are indeed true, and Craig Breslow and Co. are finally being given the Fenway Sports Group checkbook to run rampant with.
Again, unlikely, I know. Perhaps the Sox’s recently developed reputation as unserious players throughout the league is finally catching up to them, and ownership is realizing it.
The only thing that will and should move the needle anymore for Red Sox fans is action, not words.
Crocheting a blockbuster
Continuing with the theme of “the Red Sox have awoken from the dead,” it appears the local nine are in on another star player who is (potentially) available (and not named Juan Soto).
Garrett Crochet, perhaps the top prize on the arm on the market — trade, free agent or otherwise -- is likely to be on the move this offseason, and the Sox have positioned themselves as firmly in the mix.
Specifically, they are “right in the thick of things” in the Crochet talks, per MassLive. What does that mean? The team has reportedly communicated to the White Sox that they want to be in the running for Crochet.
That’s all well and good, but so are other teams.
The first-time All-Star left-hander should be a hot commodity as bonafide contenders and fringe buyers alike do what they do every offseason and try to bulk up on starting arms. To get him, the Sox are going to have to play ball…
That means parting with at least one top prospect, and possibly more. There’s talk that the Sox might be able to get a deal done without parting with a “Big 4” prospect — Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kyle Teel, Kristian Campbell. If I’m the White Sox, the asking price starts with one of them (and Chicago GM Chris Getz told reporters that a position player(s) is the targeted return).
If, however, the Sox can pull off a trade for Crochet without parting with any of the four, Breslow would be fully earning his “smartest guy in the room” moniker.
As far as the fit is concerned, Crochet is as ideal a fit as you can get. Boston has been lacking a southpaw in the rotation since trading away their last former White Sox star pitcher last offseason. The hard-throwing Crochet — who, by the way, is just 25 and under team control for the next two years — would be a seamless fit.
Personally? I would be willing to part with one of the Big 4 to land Crochet (Anthony is my only untouchable, but I’d like to keep Mayer too). It’s simply the price of doing business. That being the case, it will be on Breslow to pinpoint which of those prospects is going to pan out and who isn’t, like when Dave Dombrowski correctly assessed that Yoan Moncada wouldn’t be as good as Andrew Benintendi (even though they both wound up on the White Sox anyway).
Hot Fried rumors
It seems the Sox are indeed making a run at Lucas Giolito’s high school buddy after all.
Among others, The New York Post reports that the Red Sox are interested in two-time All-Star southpaw Max Fried. Boston’s AL East rivals in Toronto, Baltimore and New York are also in the hunt, too.
I’ve long maintained this year that Fried would be my ideal target starter in free agency, and was asked during this week’s Q&A why. Here’s what I wrote…
“On Fried, I like the situational fit. They need a left-hander. He has ties to people in this organization, and from when I asked him about it this season, really enjoys pitching at Fenway. He is getting older, sure, (he’s 30) and that could be a concern. But he’s been more durable than not on the whole. Four of the last six seasons, he’s made at least 28 starts. Yeah, there are injuries mixed in. If you gave me a pick of the entire major league talent pool, Fried wouldn’t be my top choice. It’s about who’s available now.”
Signing Fried would be a big enough deal in and of itself. But what about Fried and Crochet? That would be an absolute haul… reminiscent of the Sox of old (like that team from twenty years ago with that documentary).
It’s also almost certainly a pipe dream. As much as I would love — and think they should and need to, frankly — for the Sox to sign Fried (and why not throw Pete Alonso in there, too, since we’re daydreaming and all…) and trade for Crochet, it’s likely an either-or scenario.
There’s where they might have a little leverage in negotiations with the White Sox. “No thanks, we’re not interested in giving you one of the Big 4. We’ll just sign Fried instead.” In an apples-to-apples comparison, Crochet is easily the better target. He’s five years younger, cheaper (for now) and may only be at the beginning of his prime, unlike Fried who is in it and trending toward the back nine.
Personally, I believe the odds are pretty good of the Sox coming away with one of the two by the time spring training rolls around…
Soto Sox
Like the Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto rumors a year ago, we might as well get as much run out of the Soto rumors as we can before the inevitable disappointment…
Only way Soto is getting 700 from the Red Sox is if it's 700 years at $10 million... #DirtyWater
— Gethin Coolbaugh (@GethinCoolbaugh) November 10, 2024
But what if we put on our rose-colored glasses for a second and examined what Soto in a Red Sox uniform would look like… and if he’s even fit at all.
The short answer is, yes, obviously he’s a fit.
Anybody with a generational bat who’s available and still on the earlier side of his prime is a player you just find a way to squeeze into your lineup. Showing Masataka Yoshida the door to put Soto at DH? You’d do that 10 times out of 10.
If the plan were to sign Soto and not DH him, then the numbers game you’re already dealing with in the outfield rears its ugly head. You’d have to move on from one of Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu or Ceddanne Rafaela (and possibly two of them, if Anthony is in their plans sooner than later).
Then there’s the issue that he’s another left-handed hitter. As well we know, the Sox have a tad too many of those.
What Soto does have going for him (other than, you know, being a generational talent and all…) is that he’s 25 and fits in well with the timeline for the core you have. Something in the way of a 10-year deal would make sense if they truly feel like this roster is ready to compete starting now.
Would I sign Soto, all things considered? Yes, of course. And who would be the odd man out? Abreu, unfortunately. But dealing Abreu or another one of the outfielders would bring a return of some much-needed pitching or more prospects.
If only…
