Red Sox Are 'Clear Front-Runners' For $60 Million All-Star, Per MLB Insider

The bullpen signing the Red Sox desperately need?

Oct 2, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Tanner Scott (66) throws during the sixth inning of game two in the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images / Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox have made some strong moves this winter, but they have still yet to flex whatever spending power they possess these days.

Trading for Garrett Crochet could be the most impactful move any team makes this winter, and the Red Sox deserve a pat on the back for that. But the fact remains that they've yet to commit to any free agent for more than two years, or more than $21.05 million.

There are plenty of ways to make an impact signing, and the bullpen is one area for Boston to consider. Relief pitching woes cost the Red Sox double-digit wins after the All-Star break this past season, which kept them out of the playoffs.

Tanner Scott, a 2024 All-Star who finished the season with a 1.75 ERA, is the top reliever available on the market. And because the Red Sox are still the Red Sox, and because they don't have a clear-cut closer, shouldn't they be expected to go hard in their pursuit of Scott?

Such is the view of The Athletic insider Jim Bowden, who installed the Red Sox as the favorites to land Scott in a free-agency predictions column on Monday.

"The Red Sox are the clear front-runners for Scott," Bowden wrote. "Their chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow, was a left-handed reliever in his playing days and seems obsessed with corralling lefty pitchers: He’s already signed three of them in free agency... and acquired two more via trades."

"Red Sox manager Alex Cora prefers a single closer and Scott is the best one available."

Scott, 30, has a 2.04 ERA since the start of the 2023 season, when he seemed to get some of his early-career control problems out of the way. He has struck out 188 batters in 150 innings in that time frame.

Bowden projected Scott for a four-year, $60 million contract earlier this winter. Later, it was reported that the lefty is looking for closer to $80 million, so perhaps Boston is waiting to see if the divide can be bridged.

It's wise to look for friendly deals, but the Red Sox have done too much penny-pinching in recent years. If they think Scott is the guy to take them over the top, they have to do what it takes to get him in a Boston uniform.

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