Red Sox Meeting With One of Biggest Free Agents Remaining
By Thomas Erbe
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, general manager Brian O'Halloran, and the rest of the Boston Red Sox brass are in the midst of an offseason where their hands are now being forced to make something happen.
The Baltimore Orioles won the division last year and remain young and loaded, ready to contend again. The New York Yankees have acquired Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres to reassert themselves as contenders and show no signs of being done just yet. The Tampa Bay Rays look to continue to compete using their young, home-grown talent. And the Toronto Blue Jays are certainly not going to just sit and pout after losing out on the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes.
Needless to say, a quiet offseason is not an option if the Sox want to get back into contention and muscle up against their rivals. One big name free agent pitcher has been meeting with teams already, and it looks like the Sox are next in line.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has already met with the Yankees, Mets and Giants, will meet with the Red Sox in the coming days, per source. Two or three more teams - including the Blue Jays - will also likely meet with him, sources said.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 12, 2023
Red Sox News: Yamamoto Meeting Planned in "Coming Days"
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, after dominating the baseball landscape in Japan, is ready to bring his talents to North America and compete in Major League Baseball. He has generated massive interest from multiple teams, including both the Yankees and Blue Jays.
While Yamamoto may not be on the same level of generational talent as Ohtani, he is still the latest top-talent to make the move from Japan to MLB.
The Red Sox desperately need a bolstering of their pitching staff, let alone the roster. They need to be pushing as hard as possible to land Yamamoto. If they are unable to sway him to Boston and he signs in either Toronto or the Bronx, it could be detrimental to the future and the vibes in Fenway.
The latest American League odds really highlight just how much Boston needs to pull off a massive move like this. Boston is ninth in the rankings, at 16-to-1. Three other AL East teams rank in the top-five at 8-to-1 or better.
A single player can only swing the odds so much, but there aren't many on the market who will move the needle as much as Yamamoto would.
In other Red Sox news:
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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.