Red Sox Continue Embarrassing Trend Of Losing Out On Free-Agent Targets

Boston has struggled to bring in free agents this winter

Scott Neville | Jan 30, 2023

Red Sox Continue Embarrassing Trend Of Losing Out On Free-Agent Targets /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have had a longstanding reputation of being a big-market franchise willing to spend their way into contention if needed.

Lately, however, the Red Sox have failed to sign free agents at seemingly every position -- that trend continued to rear its ugly head Sunday. A day in which Boston lost out on two more potential fits it reportedly had some level of interest in.

Gold Glove catcher Roberto Pérez signed with the San Francisco Giants according to MassLive's Chris Cotillo.

"Red Sox made an aggressive bid and were a consideration at the end," Cotillo tweeted Sunday. "Ultimately, Pérez thought San Francisco represented a better fit."

Money typically wins out in negotiations, but the Giants were a much match for Pérez. Boston is far from having a loaded catcher group, but they do have Reese McGuire, Connor Wong and newly acquired Jorge Alfaro expected to compete for playing time.

In San Francisco, Pérez's only competition is Joey Bart, who has not come close to living up to his draft hype.

Just hours before the Pérez news broke, Josh Harrison -- a middle infielder/utility man -- agreed to join the Philadelphia Phillies according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman. The veteran has been regularly linked to the Red Sox since Trevor Story's surgery was announced.

Harrison inked a one-year, $2 million deal. The contract indicates that Boston must not have been highly interested -- likely offering a minor-league deal if any.

Regardless, the seemingly strong Red Sox fit heads elsewhere. Neither of the two losses are alarming by themselves, but it continues a scary trend.

Just this offseason alone the Red Sox were reportedly outbid for first baseman José Abreu, right-handed reliever Tommy Kahnle, left-handed starter Andrew Heaney, outfielder Mitch Haniger, shortstop Xander Bogaerts and utility man Brandon Drury.

Right-hander Zach Eflin was offered the same contract by the Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays -- he elected to head to his hometown Rays.

It should be noted that any active team in the offseason is going to lose out on multiple free agents for a number of factors -- most of which will be out of team control. Still, fans would like to see a higher conversion rate next offseason.

More MLB: Three Potential Red Sox Reunions To Bolster Roster Before Spring Training

Published Jan 30, 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