It seemed the Boston Red Sox took out the highlighter and zeroed in on Max Fried this offseason.
The Red Sox, in desperate need of a frontline starting pitcher and plenty of options available on the free agent market, were viewed as one of the finalists for the veteran starting pitcher But Boston didn’t emerge as the winner in the race for Fried.
Instead, the New York Yankees landed the two-time All-Star for the massive price of an eight-year, $218 million contract, the most amount of money given to a lefty pitcher in MLB history.
In the aftermath of losing out on another high-profile free agent, MassLive’s Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam added context to Boston’s pursuit of Fried.
“The Red Sox made a serious run at Fried, according to a source, but the Yankees’ bid was described as ‘significantly ahead’ of what Boston offered,” Cotillo and McAdam wrote. “It’s unclear if Boston preferred Fried to fellow top free agent Corbin Burnes, who remains unsigned.”
With Fried no longer an option, it looks like the Red Sox will pivot — the word of the offseason so far for the franchise — to Burnes. Boston reportedly was “readying” an offer for the 30-year-old right-hander on Tuesday night.
Burnes would be a huge get for the Red Sox after seeing Fried end up with their archrival. Burnes, who is a four-time All-Star and 2021 Cy Young Award winner, is coming off a season with the Baltimore Orioles in which he compiled a 15-9 record to go along with a 2.92 ERA and 1.096 WHIP.
And signing Burnes might help Red Sox fans forget about coming up short to the Yankees for Fried.
