Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Among Teams Interested In Top Four Free Agents Remaining

Boston could make a splash after all

Scott Neville

Red Sox Among Teams Interested In Top Four Free Agents Remaining
Red Sox Among Teams Interested In Top Four Free Agents Remaining /
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Will the Boston Red Sox splurge on a premier free agent less than a month away from players reporting to spring training?

The top four free agents available are all impactful players: southpaws Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, outfielder Cody Bellinger and third baseman Matt Chapman.

Agent Scott Boras, who represents all four, could be the only one to convince Red Sox ownership to spend. The esteemed super agent will continue to contact all the biggest markets and would love for Boston to participate in a bidding war or two.

"This time around, enough teams are interested in the Boras Four that each could very well land nine-figure deals," ESPN's Jeff Passan wrote Thursday. "Among the teams that have indicated interest in at least one of the players, according to sources: the San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels."

While Bellinger and Chapman do not fit the Red Sox's primary needs, Montgomery and Snell certainly do. 

"Texas and Boston make sense for Montgomery, while the Yankees and Angels have dabbled in the Snell sweepstakes," Passan wrote.

Red Sox ownership has come out and explained that payroll likely will be lower next season than it was a year ago. Despite this, the national media has not given up on Boston spending. 

Part of the reasoning could be due to the inconsistent messaging from ownership, making it hard to believe they even have set plans.

Since Winter Weekend -- which was filled with pessimistic comments from ownership and Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow -- both Passan and the New York Post's Jon Heyman have included Boston as potential landing spots for marquee free agents.

Heyman echoed Passan's sentiment that Montgomery is likely down to Texas or Boston. He also mentioned the Red Sox as a potential suitor for Snell and a darkhorse candidate for outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler.

It's not worth getting hopes up but multiple well-informed sources still believe Boston is in the mix for frontline starting pitching. 

More MLB: Red Sox Reportedly Have Second-Best Odds To Land Frontline Starter Despite Pessimism

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Scott Neville
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

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