Red Sox Urged To Acquire $174 Million Superstar In Blockbuster Free Agency Move

Could this be the free-agent signing fans have been hoping for?

Saturday, June 8, 2024; Boston MA-Fans watch the game from the top of the Green Monster during the Savannah Bananas first Banana Ball game at Fenway Park on Saturday, June 8, 2024. / Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News / USA TODAY NETWORK

Everyone has their own idea for how the Boston Red Sox should improve the roster this winter, but the best ideas are often the most expensive ones.

After a season where the Boston Red Sox collapsed after the All-Star break and finished at exactly .500, the fan base is becoming restless. Three seasons in a row have cratered for most of the same reasons, and lack of top-tier starting pitching has been perhaps the most obvious reason of all.

Adding a true number-one starter would solve more problems for the Red Sox than they know they have. But starters like those also cost a ton of money--at least nine figures--and the Red Sox haven't spent nine figures on any pitcher since they gave Chris Sale his ill-fated extension after the 2018 season.

Insider Sean McAdam of MassLive believes the Red Sox can and should fork over the money to land that ace. He named longtime Atlanta Braves superstar Max Fried as the top starting pitching target for the Red Sox on the free-agent market this winter.

"Just as the Red Sox are far too lefthanded with their lineup, they’re exclusively righthanded with their rotation. And there isn’t a single lefty starter in the upper levels of their minor league system. The Red Sox need balance and Fried provides that," McAdam said.

"Of course, he offers much more than that. Though not as durable as (fellow free agent Corbin) Burnes, he’s been durable enough, only missing time in 2022. Otherwise, he’s made 28 or more starts in his last three full seasons."

Fried, 30, has the track record to take the reins of this Red Sox rotation and guide them to the postseason. He's got a 73-36 career record with a 3.07 ERA, and owns two All-Star appearances, three Gold Gloves, and a 2021 World Series ring.

Fried was recently projected for a six-year, $174 million contract by Jim Bowden of The Athletic. That would be the second-largest deal Boston has ever handed out to a free-agent pitcher, behind David Price's record-breaking $217 million deal signed before the 2016 season.

McAdam fully believes the Red Sox should pull the trigger on such a contact. And having watched the Boston rotation flounder in the second half of the season, it's hard to disagree.

More MLB: Insider Hints At Red Sox's Hesitation To Sign Dodgers Superstar Teoscar Hernández