BREAKING: Red Sox Are 'In' On Four-Time All-Star Projected For $217 Million, Per Insider

Can the Red Sox nab their ace in free agency?

Jul 16, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; American League pitcher Corbin Burnes of the Baltimore Orioles (39) pitches in the first inning during the 2024 MLB All-Star game at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

It’s time for the Boston Red Sox to get back to the top of the American League East. There’s one simple thing standing in their way.

Elite Major League Baseball teams need elite starting pitchers, and the Red Sox only have starters that are either very solid or full of promise. Without a true staff ace to take their cues from, the Boston pitching staff imploded in 2024, sinking their playoff chances after the All-Star break.

With so much young talent and so much potential, it would be criminal for the Red Sox not to invest significant resources in bringing in at least one headlining starting pitcher. Whether they do so in free agency or via trade is a question for the front office, but either way, it has to get done.

If they go the free agency route, Jon Heyman of the New York Post believes there’s a name at the top of Boston’s list, in addition to a half-dozen other teams’. Heyman said recently on a Bleacher Report livestream that the Red Sox are “in” on the Corbin Burnes sweepstakes.

“Burnes, another guy they could go for as well,” Heyman said. “Burnes will probably get the most… He’s been very durable, very dependable, excellent starting pitcher. Fewer strikeouts this year, but I think he was pitching to contact at times, that’s what he told me.”

Burnes, 30, did see a dip in his strikeout rate from year to year, going down each year from 12.6 K/9 in 2021 to 8.4 in 2024. But he threw 194 innings with a 2.92 ERA, his lowest since that 2021 season, so it would be hard to say the lessened punchouts weren’t worth the hassle.

If there’s any sticking point for the Red Sox, it could be Burnes’ contract. Heyman seemed optimistic, as many are, that the Red Sox will spend significantly more this winter than they have the last few years, but the number Burnes commands could still be a bit rich for their blood.

Tim Britton of The Athletic currently projects a seven-year, $217 million contract for Burnes, the same deal they once gave David Price. The 2010s Red Sox regime wouldn’t have hesitated to sign on the dotted line for Burnes, but we’ll soon learn whether the same is still possible in the 2020s.