Red Sox Linked To '$300-plus Million' Ace As Possible Blockbuster Free Agent Signing

Can the Red Sox get back to dominating free agency?

Sep 20, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detail view of Boston Red Sox hats and gloves at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox are talking as if they want to go big this winter. But how big are they really willing to go?

After missing the playoffs for the third consecutive year, the Red Sox brass, led by Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow and CEO Sam Kennedy, have been pledging to be aggressive in getting Boston back to the playoffs in 2025. At this point, though, fans will believe it when they see it.

If the Red Sox are going to spend top dollar at long last this winter, an ace starting pitcher is likely to be the top priority. Whether they are willing to outspend the big dogs, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets, remains to be seen.

There is one pitcher who seems the safest bet to command the biggest contract of them all--2021 National League Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes. After an All-Star season with the Baltimore Orioles, Burnes is hitting the market just as he turns 30, and expects to make a serious windfall.

On Thursday, Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report named the Red Sox as one of the top fits for Burnes in free agency, while stating that his decreased strikeout rate in 2024 would not deter teams from offering the righty top dollar.

"The picture is not that of a devolving pitcher, but rather of an evolving one. And as long as the results are there, well, why complain?" Rymer said.

"Teams in need of an ace certainly won't be. They'll be too busy trying to woo Burnes, with the end result likely to be a deal that comes close to comes close to matching the $300-plus million guarantees of Gerrit Cole and Yoshinobu Yamamoto."

Let's start with Rymer's last point. If Burnes is going to make close to or above $300 million, one could argue the Red Sox are out of the running right from the jump. But some reports said they were willing to offer that kind of money to Yamamoto last winter, though that was a unique case because of the Japanese hurler's age.

Still, the Red Sox need someone capable of setting the tone atop their rotation. Burnes could prove to be that pitcher, as he tossed 194 1/3 innings this year, the sixth-most in all of baseball. Combine that with a 2.92 ERA, and few aces are more dependable across the game.

It's going to be a waiting game until free agency opens in November, at which point we could quickly find out how serious the Red Sox are about pursuing big-time free agents. If Burnes comes to Boston, the front office's seriousness will be in question no more.

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