The Boston Red Sox have been linked to several free agents and trade targets in the last few weeks including starting pitcher Corbin Burnes.
However, ESPN’s David Shoenfield is predicting a National League club will land Burnes, not Boston.
“The Red Sox are the fascinating team here. Even after trading for Garrett Crochet, their payroll sits at $150 million, according to Roster Resource (with a luxury tax payroll of about $183 million, still well below the $241 million first-level threshold),” Schoenfield wrote on Tuesday. “They could sign (Alex) Bregman and Burnes at, say, $30 million per season and still be right around the threshold — although they still need a closer as well. Bregman, Burnes and a closer?
“Maybe that’s a stretch, but keep in mind that the Red Sox made a big offer to (Juan) Soto. They might be willing to ramp up that payroll well past the tax threshold after sitting well under it in recent seasons.”
According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, Burnes is projected to land more than $245 million. Shoenfield believes the likely destination for the 30-year-old right-hander will be the San Francisco Giants.
“With that said … the Giants seem to be the favorite as they look to deepen a rotation that includes Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Kyle Harrison, with Jordan Hicks and Hayden Birdsong next on the depth chart,” Schoenfield continued. “The Giants’ payroll sits some $40 million below where it was last season … With veterans such as Webb, Ray, (Willy) Adames and Matt Chapman, the Giants should be making a big push, and the structure of Adames’ contract indicates new president of baseball operations Buster Posey is looking to make another big splash in free agency.”
The Red Sox could shift gears and opt to sign Bregman or Teoscar Hernández instead of spending the money on another pitcher.
