The Red Sox suddenly have a glaring need at shortstop, something the organization hasn’t been faced with in nearly a decade.
Could Boston fill the void with the best player at the position on the open market?
One could argue Carlos Correa is the top free agent at this juncture of the Major League Baseball offseason, regardless of position. Correa put himself in a position to cash in thanks to a successful debut season with the Minnesota Twins, but his impending contract could become even richer thanks to Xander Bogaerts’ 11-year pact with the San Diego Padres.
The New York Post’s Jon Heyman expects Correa’s new deal to “soar past” $300 million in total value, which could take smaller market teams like the Minnesota Twins and the Seattle Mariners out of the running for the two-time All-Star. But what about the Red Sox, who have some money to spend and need an infusion of high-end talent in their lineup?
“The Red Sox are said to have offered $28 million for six years for Bogaerts (and maybe a little higher had they been within striking distance of the Padres) so that could make the money right for (Dansby) Swanson, though it shouldn’t be ruled out that Boston will enter the Correa sweepstakes,” Heyman wrote in a column published Thursday. “There’s no clear indication they have yet, but manager Alex Cora does love Correa from their days together in Houston.”
Heyman’s take on the Correa sweepstakes suggests the Red Sox are closer to the side of a longshot than a realistic landing spot for the 28-year-old. The opposite might be true for the Yankees, though, and Correa ending up in New York could spell very bad news for Boston.
