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.
Source: https://www.bostonsportsjournal.com/2024/11/09/mlb-notebook-red-sox-to-be-big-spenders-in-free-agency-garrett-crochet-max-fried-rumors-heating-up–possible-soto-fit
