Mets Loosely Linked To Red Sox's Chris Sale As Offseason Trade Target

Could Boston dump their highest-paid pitcher?

Scott Neville | Aug 2, 2023

Mets Loosely Linked To Red Sox's Chris Sale As Offseason Trade Target /

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The New York Mets have had a carousel of past-their-prime, oft-injured and highly-paid star pitchers in the last few years. They cut ties with Jacob deGrom over the offseason and just shipped off both Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at the deadline.

Logically, the last person they would pursue after a blunder of a season is Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale right? Well, New York Post's Joel Sherman mentioned the concept both in writing and on MLB Network that Sale could be an option for the Mets.

"For a starter, how about James Paxton and Hyun-jin Ryu. Or maybe tell the Red Sox, you will take Chris Sale’s $27.5 million due in 2024 as long as they attach a prospect to him," Sherman wrote Thursday.

Sherman made similar statements on MLB Network, enforcing the idea. If Mets owner Steve Cohen is going to continue his blank checkbook approach, buying a prospect and Sale would make sense.

However, the Red Sox have stuck through this contract, which has made a huge impact on their lack of financial flexibility for years and it would make no sense to bail now. Boston reset the luxury tax this season, would only have him for one more year and would have to give up a solid prospect just to dump him.

From the Mets' standpoint, while it would likely anger the fans to get another high-priced big name after the 2023 season they have endured, it would make sense. But Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom isn't going to pull the trigger on that move.

More MLB: Red Sox Make Lone Trade To Slightly Bolster Infield Group Prior To Deadline

Published Aug 2, 2023

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