The Boston Red Sox are reportedly still in contention to sign Juan Soto as baseball’s Winter Meetings begin, but if their bid for Soto fails the team’s top brass have raised fan expectations so high that they absolutely “have to” sign a major free agent pitcher, according to one top Major League insider.
“They’ve talked a huge game all winter, and have been in strong pursuit of Soto. Yet, whether they land Soto or not, they can’t stop now,” wrote longtime baseball columnist Bob Nightengale of USA Today. “The expectations are simply too high to sit back and tell everyone that they tried.”
Boston Must Build a Better Starting Rotation
The Red Sox need to upgrade their starting rotation. Boston starters were adequate, thouugh not stellar, overall in 2024, in terms of preventing runs. Their 3.81 starting pitchers’ ERA was good enough for seventh in MLB and fifth in the American League. But when it came to staying in the game, Red Sox starting pitchers left a lot to be desired.
Boston starters gave the team 839 2/3 innings last season, an average of just over five innings per game. That ranked them 16th overall in MLB, the definition of a mediocre performance. Their lack of innings put too much pressure on the bullpen arms, which wore down in the second half of the season. Red Sox relievers recorded a 4.39 ERA, 24th overall. They ranked just 11th in holds — that is, relievers who left the game with the same lead in which they entered — and recorded just 40 saves in 71 opportunities.
All but 13 of those saves were recorded by future Hall of Famer Kenley Jansen, who completed his two-year contract with Boston and is not expected to return.
The two top free agent pitchers reported to be in the Red Sox sights this offseason have been former Atlanta Braves lefty Max Fried and righty Corbin Burnes, who pitched last season on a one-year contract for the Baltimore Orioles after six seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Burnes’ Price Tag Expected to Exceed $200 Million
Given that the Red Sox starting staff came up short in the stamina department, the Red Sox would appear to need a starting pitcher who is not only an ace, but a durable one. That would be Burnes, who has exceeded 190 innings pitched in each of the the last three seasons and at age 30 should be in his prime. His 194 1/3 innings in 2024 was the sixth-most in MLB, just 12 1/3 behind overall leader Logan Gilbert of the Seattle Mariners.
The price tag for Burnes will be high, but with the Red Sox reportedly willing to spend around $700 million on Soto, they should be able to afford at least one pitcher if they don’t get Soto. Or even if they do. The sports business site SpoTrac sets Burnes’ estimated market value at $180.8 million over six years. But according to Nightengale, rapidly changing market conditions make that estimate a low one.
Both Burnes and Fried appear likely to command a minimum of $200 million each, according to the insider report. But if they fail to win the Soto sweepstakes, it makes sense that the Red Sox must spend big on other free agents and the need for a starting pitcher tops their shopping list.
