Change In Approach? Red Sox Can Finish Offseason Strong After Slow Start

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed standout pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million contract late Thursday night. They also signed two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani to a record-breaking 10-year, $700 million deal in early December.

That’s more than $1 billion, which we don’t need to tell you is a ton of scratch.

LA’s spending has influenced a lot of anger from Major League Baseball fanbases, and it’s not necessarily directed at the Dodgers. Their plan of spending a literal fortune on two players this offseason has many wondering why their favorite team isn’t ponying up the cash, and there really isn’t a concrete answer.

There’s one on-field reason that’s pretty simple, however. Ohtani and Yamamoto don’t guarantee anything for the Dodgers, which is something we’ve seen with big-money spenders in the past few seasons. The New York Mets and San Diego Padres spent north of $800 million total last winter, and neither made the postseason. The Los Angeles Angels have already paired Ohtani with a superstar, and we all know how well that worked.

The Dodgers could very well go out and win the World Series in 2024. In fact, they’re the undoubted favorite to do so, but the fact remains that it won’t be a walk in the park.

There’s also the small fact of the offseason not being over, as well.

That’s where the Red Sox come into this equation. We’ve danced around it, but those fans we mentioned earlier are the same people reading this in hopes of finding some semblance of comfort. You’re probably angry that two all-world talents aren’t coming to Boston, and we can’t do anything to make you feel better, but we can remind you that a successful offseason is still on the table in Boston.

It’s not like Yamamoto and Ohtani were the last two free agents to sign. In fact, they were basically the first. It was widely believed that they’d reset the market, meaning a bulk of the available players this offseason sat back and waited to see how much their value would increase after the two studs put pen to paper.

That ink is about to dry, which means all of those guys are about to cash in.

We’re not going to sit here and list out all the players the Red Sox could possibly sign, but they’re still in decent shape for a team that’s in need of starting pitching. Jordan Montgomery has not only been linked to, but is currently living in Boston. Blake Snell and Marcus Stroman are high-priced options if the Red Sox feel they can fit. Shōta Imanaga has been in Yamamoto’s shadow this offseason, but is still one of the top available pitchers on the market.

We can’t say you shouldn’t be frustrated that a pair of generational players are teaming up and it’s not with your team. In fact, we’re not even claiming you shouldn’t be upset with how slowly things have developed in Boston. This is just a reminder that we haven’t even hit 2024.

The Red Sox can still make something happen, folks.