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Thursday, January 09, 2025

Time To Catch Up?

Sorry, folks - took a bit of a break from Shank, as we all need to do from time to time...

Let's start from a few weeks ago, when Shank correctly pointts out the half-assed effort by the Red Sox to go after free agents again this offseason:
Red Sox have struck out on big-name talent, but they rule one aspect of free agency: They’re kings of interest

Last winter, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner gave us a punchline for the ages when he pledged that the Sox would go “full throttle” after their last-place finish of 2023.

We all know how that worked out. The Sox were a virtual Paul Cézanne still life in the winter of 2023-24, unless you want to count trading 2024 Cy Young winner Chris Sale to the Braves for a bin of rosin bags, and signing Lucas Giolito, who got hurt in Fort Myers and didn’t throw a pitch all season.

This winter is different. Sort of.

The Sox have indeed added some name players (Aroldis Chapman, Walker Buehler, Garrett Crochet), but they’re still tire-kickers on the free agent market, ever MLB’s “Kings of Interest,” and no longer serious players for big-name talents seeking multiyear deals.

1 comment:

FenFan said...

As a partial season ticket holder, I keep waiting for the Sox to justify why I hang on to my tickets for another season while the price continues to climb. At this moment, while I know they've signed a few "B list" players, I couldn't name one aside from Aroldis Chapman, and only because he formally played for New York, and truthfully no longer qualifies as even a "B list" player. Signing Bregman or Arenado MIGHT give me some comfort... but it seems like we may be facing down another .500 season in 2025.