Red Sox Urged To Act More Like Dodgers, Yankees In Free Agency By Insider

How can Boston make it back to the Fall Classic?

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

Watching the 2024 World Series is something of a nightmare for Boston Red Sox fans, minus the result thus far.

Yes, the arch-rival New York Yankees are down 2-0 to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but there are still lots of Red Sox pain points. Mookie Betts is back in the Fall Classic. Alex Verdugo somehow made it this far despite having his worst season ever. And mostly, the two teams involved spent way, way more money on their rosters this year than Boston did.

Five short years ago, the Red Sox had the highest payroll in baseball. Then Dave Dombrowski was let go, ownership seemingly directed Chaim Bloom to trade Betts, and Boston's payroll has gradually dipped all the way to 11th, while they've made the playoffs just once in that time frame.

One insider is fed up with the divide between the modern Red Sox and the game's traditional powers. Sean McAdam of MassLive wrote about the importance of spending to the two World Series contestants and implored the Red Sox to ramp up their own spending this winter.

"Watching Game 1 of the World Series was just the latest reminder of the importance of high-salaried players. When the Dodgers needed saving in the 10th inning, they turned to Freddie Freeman," McAdam said.

"The Red Sox have made vague promises about ramping up spending since their season ended. They somewhat tacitly and sheepishly acknowledged that the time for rebuilding from within is now complete. It’s time to import difference-makers to join the assembled nucleus. Time will tell."

The free-agent market is wide open for the Red Sox this winter. They need starting pitching, and Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, and Blake Snell are sitting right there for them. They need a right-handed power bat, and Teoscar Hernández (who homered in Game 2 Saturday night) is staring them right in the face.

McAdam is far from the only person who thinks the Red Sox have run out of legitimate excuses. The uproar was loud last winter when Boston failed to spend big, but it will be ten times the volume if the same things happens again.

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