Red Sox Reportedly Offered $300 Million Deal To Premier Free Agent

Boston is going all in for the best player available

Scott Neville | Dec 16, 2023

Red Sox Reportedly Offered $300 Million Deal To Premier Free Agent /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have faced criticism all offseason long for their lack of activity thus far.

Red Sox part-owner Tom Werner claimed the team would go "full throttle" this offseason, yet has only made one free-agent signing for a whopping $1 million dollars -- for right-handed depth reliever Cooper Criswell.

While most fans have grown restless, there finally is an indication that the Red Sox are actually starting to throw some money around.

"The (San Francisco) Giants and Red Sox both making a strong recent push for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, both with offers more than $300 million dollars according to sources," The Athletic's Jim Bowden reported Saturday. "Certainly others too making strong runs."

Yamamoto posted a 16-6 record with a 1.21 ERA, 169-to-28 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 0.88 WHIP in 164 innings across 23 starts for Orix Buffaloes in 2023.

He's a 25-year-old ace who has interest from all of the biggest spenders in Major League Baseball. It will be a dogfight to acquire his services.

Even if Yamamoto heads elsewhere, it won't be for a lack of effort. All they can do is make a highly lucrative offer, which they've done, and hope their pitch was strong enough. Given the Red Sox's recent unwillingness to spend big, it's nice to see their sense of urgency.

There are a bunch of premier starting pitchers still available. If Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow continues this level of aggressiveness, Boston should have no issue rebuilding the rotation ahead of Opening Day.

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Published Dec 16, 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