Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Deemed Favorite To Land Free-Agent Ace With Boston Ties By Oddsmaker

Boston could desperately use a frontline starter or two this winter

Scott Neville

Red Sox Deemed Favorite To Land Free-Agent Ace With Boston Ties By Oddsmaker
Red Sox Deemed Favorite To Land Free-Agent Ace With Boston Ties By Oddsmaker /
In this story:

The Boston Red Sox are squarely in the hunt for their next Opening Day starter after a year in which the pitching staff proved to be as poor as initially anticipated. 

By all accounts, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow does not appear to be in line to make the same mistakes as his predecessor and has been heavily involved in the starting pitching market.

While exploring all options is much needed, Boston reportedly has one clear favorite at the top of the market and it sounds like a deal could be worked out, if not imminent. 

The Red Sox are listed as the favorites to sign left-hander Jordan Montgomery according to the oddsmakers at BetOnline. Boston enters with +200 odds (33%) to land the intriguing 30-year-old hurler, who is set for a notable payday. 

Montgomery posted a 3.20 ERA with a 166-to-48 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .247 batting average against and 1.19 WHIP in 188 2/3 innings between his time with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers last season.

After a strong regular season, the southpaw went 4-2 with a 2.90 ERA in 31 innings last postseason on his way to the Rangers' first World Series Championship.

The Athletic's Tim Britton projects Montgomery to recieve a contract in the realm of five years, $105 million contract this winter.

The Red Sox should have no problem handing out a contract in the aformentioned range after resetting the luxury tax amid a last-place finish in the American League East. 

Montgomery recently moved to Boston due to his wife's employment in the area and has been training at Boston College. That could prove to provide and edge come time to negotiate. 

It's time for the Red Sox to spend some money after mutliple seasons of mediocrity. Montgomery would be a logical player to invest in.

More MLB: Red Sox Outfielder Reportedly On Trade Block Loosely Linked To Five Teams

Published
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

Home/Boston Red Sox News