ESPN Ranks Red Sox Among ‘Best Bets’ For Three Big-Name Free Agents

Sure, the Red Sox didn’t land Shohei Ohtani.

But that doesn’t mean Boston can’t still make a significant splash this Major League Baseball offseason.

Now that Ohtani decided to join the Los Angeles Dodgers on a reported 10-year, $700 million contract, all eyes are on the remaining free agents, a few of whom make sense for the pitching-hungry Red Sox.

ESPN’s David Schoenfield on Monday examined the MLB free agent market, pointing out “best bets” and predicting landing spots for some of the biggest names still available.

Schoenfield included the Red Sox among his “best bets” for pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise given Boston’s need for rotation help. Nor does it guarantee the Red Sox will push aggressively for any of the aforementioned arms. But it nevertheless provides a good snapshot of how the club could approach its quest to add starting pitching.

The dilemma? The market for all three pitchers could be robust, especially now that Ohtani is unattainable. Yamamoto, for instance, might land a contract well north of $200 million in free agency. Are the Red Sox prepared to go that high for a pitcher with zero MLB experience?

If not, the Red Sox could shift their focus to Snell and/or Montgomery, who are entering their age-31 seasons and therefore might come slightly cheaper than Yamamoto, a 25-year-old phenom who pitched like an ace in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Signing either still would be a sizable financial investment, though, and the competition in free agency figures to be fierce.

All told, Schoenfield predicted the New York Mets will sign Yamamoto. And he projected Snell and Montgomery will sign with the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees, respectively.