Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Reportedly Will Be 'Financially Aggressive' For Japanese Superstar

Boston has no excuse not to go all in

Scott Neville

Red Sox Reportedly Will Be 'Financially Aggressive' For Japanese Superstar
Red Sox Reportedly Will Be 'Financially Aggressive' For Japanese Superstar /
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The Boston Red Sox have finally appeared to gain some momentum in the hottest sweepstakes in Major League Baseball.

After weeks of being listed on the outside looking in by most national reporters, the Red Sox finally appear to have earned a seat at the negotiating table.

"The (New York) Mets have not yet made an offer, but industry sources expect that the Mets and Red Sox will be financially aggressive," SNY's Andy Martino reported Sunday. 

Martino also noted Boston as one of the teams "firmly in the hunt" for the 25-year-old ace.

Just one day prior, The Athletic's Jim Bowden reported that the Red Sox and San Francisco Giants have made strong pushes, each putting $300 million offers on the table. 

That said, he did not find out if the offers included the posting fee, meaning Yamamoto would likely receive closer to $250 million. 

It still appears to be a race between all of the biggest markets in MLB, which makes Boston's odds too low to get excited about. Still, the Red Sox have the clearest financial path to bringing in a superstar, given the opposing suitors' complex payroll issues.

We have yet to see anything from new Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, and his predecessor did a great job convincing the people of Boston that they live in a medium market. 

It's hard to be optimistic about the Red Sox spending big but everything that has ensued since Chaim Bloom's firing would indicate that a shift in strategy is coming.

The best possible start to this new age would be to add Yamamoto to the young core of Red Sox players.

More MLB: Red Sox Loosely Linked To Marquee Hurler Coming Off Three-Year Stint With Yankees

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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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