The Boston Red Sox realistically could end up landing the top free-agent starter this offseason.
Boston’s rotation was its Achilles Heel in 2023 and arguably is the biggest reason the club didn’t make the postseason. The Red Sox made positive strides in 2023 and even were in the American League Wild Card mix for much of the season, but things turned for the worse around the Major League Baseball Trade Deadline. Boston didn’t add a new starter and the club’s rotation struggled mightily.
The Red Sox have been mentioned as a possible fit for many of the top-tier free-agent starters and likely will spend big this offseason to land one. The one who has drawn the most headlines is Orix Buffaloes star Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He is 25 years old and could be the best free-agent hurler available. Boston will have stiff competition to land him but has been given strong odds for a move by DraftKings, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.
“Yamamoto, the 25-year-old Japanese superstar, is widely considered the top starting pitching on the open market and will likely command more than $200 million,” Cotillo said. “The pitching-needy Red Sox will be in on him along with many of baseball’s other big-market teams. DraftKings is rather bullish on Boston’s chances to land Yamamoto, giving the Red Sox the second-best odds to land him. The (New York Mets) are the favorites at +220 while the (Los Angeles Dodgers) (+450), (New York Yankees) (+550), and (Chicago Cubs) (+600) round out the top five in the mix.”
If the Red Sox could land Yamamoto in free agency, this offseason would be an absolute success. If he’s able to carry over his success with the Buffaloes to Major League Baseball he will quickly be one of the best pitchers in the big leagues. Boston needs to make a major splash of this nature to get back to the postseason. The Red Sox may not have the highest odds to land Yamamoto, but it does sound like they are going to make a run for him at least.
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