Yankees Reportedly Showing Interest In Reunion With Rumored Red Sox Target

Boston does not need the added competition

Scott Neville | Dec 18, 2023

Yankees Reportedly Showing Interest In Reunion With Rumored Red Sox Target /

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Will the Boston Red Sox engage in a bidding war this offseason with their arch-rival New York Yankees for one of the top starting pitchers on the market?

Both teams reportedly are in the race for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, alongside the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies and possibly the Toronto Blue Jays.

The next battle might be more of a head-to-head matchup, though for both teams to be at peak powers, Yamamoto would have to land elsewhere.

"A rotation without Yamamoto would require at least one more starter, and the Yankees, at least internally, have discussed a reunion with free-agent lefty Jordan Montgomery," The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal wrote Sunday.

The Red Sox reportedly have Montgomery ranked above all other stateside free-agent pitchers and are expected to pursue the reigning World Series champion, especially if they fail to land Yamamoto.

Montgomery posted a 3.20 ERA with a 166-to-48 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .247 batting average against and 1.19 WHIP in 188 2/3 innings between his time with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers.

He's the most consistent option among the top starters available and would be a fantastic addition to a Red Sox pitching staff in desperate need of a jolt. Yamamoto is the priority but Montgomery is far from a consolation prize.

If the Red Sox do not land the 25-year-old Japanese ace, they'll have to quickly pivot and add multiple starters, one of which has to be either an ace or ace-adjacent.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow had not been able to ease into his new role. As he currently engages in a dogfight with all of the largest markets in Major League Baseball, he'll have to prep for another bidding war on the horizon.

Hopefully, he can get a big win under his belt in the coming weeks.

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Published Dec 18, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu