Conflicting Reports On Red Sox’s Interest In Premier Hurler With Decision Imminent

Boston will add a starter before spring training

Scott Neville | Jan 9, 2024

Conflicting Reports On Red Sox’s Interest In Premier Hurler With Decision Imminent /

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Boston Red Sox

Are the Boston Red Sox closing in on signing one of the top starting pitchers available?

Well, that would strongly depend on who you trust in the baseball media landscape, as for the third time this winter, reports are all over the place regarding a Japanese star.

This time the confusion surrounds southpaw Shōta Imanaga, who would be a notable addition to the rotation.

The Red Sox were deemed a "long shot" by MassLive's Chris Cotillo on Monday, backing up a report by The Boston Globe's Alex Speier, who had the Red Sox as just "lurking" for Imanaga as opposed to a frontrunner.

Meanwhile, MLB.com's Mark Feinsand wrote a report on the same day about how the San Francisco Giants should be deemed the favorite to sign Imanaga.

At this juncture, all media members were rowing in the same direction. One day later, reports have been flipped on their head.

The New York Post's Jon Heyman wrote that the Red Sox and Chicago Cubs are "very much in play" for Imanaga while the Giants are not even one of five finalists as of Tuesday morning.

MLB Network's Jon Morosi backed up Heyman by saying the Red Sox are "among teams in contact" for Imanaga with just two days remaining in his signing window.

There is a chance there has been a material change and all parties were right at the time of reporting but while I'd love to believe the optimism, Cotillo and Speier's comments best align with how the rest of the offseason has gone. They are also as accurate as anyone in the landscape.

The good news? We'll at the latest have to wait until Thursday afternoon for Imanaga's decision.

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Published Jan 9, 2024

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