The Boston Red Sox have one final shot at a true ace in free agency.
Max Fried and Blake Snell already came off the board. Corbin Burnes is the last real frontline starter available and Boston reportedly will have an offer for the former Milwaukee Brewer and Baltimore Oriole.
If the Red Sox lose out on Burnes, there’s plenty of trade options around the game to pursue, but Boston has to be aggressive regardless.
Links to Luis Castillo, Garrett Crochet, Zac Gallen and others have popped up in the Red Sox stratosphere at different times this offseason. Monday marked what could open another door in regards to a once-American League powerhouse.
The Houston Astros appear to, at the very least, be listening on some of their top players, like left-handed starting pitcher Framber Valdez and outfielder Kyle Tucker, with a year remaining on their deals. The prospect of Valdez being available should ring positive alarms for the Red Sox.
Valdez is as dependable among lefties as they come. With four right-handers currently in the rotation, that’s a great start for the Red Sox. The Houston starter posted another quality season to the tune of a 2.91 ERA across 28 starts for the AL West champions. Valdez won a World Series title in 2022 in the first of back-to-back seasons of 30 or more starts and All-Star selections.
Valdez is also one of the game’s more proven postseason performers in recent seasons. The Red Sox know that all too well.
The then-27-year-old turned the tides of the 2021 American League Championship Series against the Red Sox. His Game 5 gem put Houston up 3-2 in the series when he tossed eight brilliant innings of one-run ball at Fenway Park. The Astros proceeded to eliminate Boston in six games.
Valdez remains efficient and keeps hitters off-balanced with a legitimate sinker-curveball combination to establish his arsenal. The Red Sox know what he’s capable of and should absolutely consider an acquire-then-extend scenario for the quality starter.
