After weeks of rumors and speculation, the Boston Red Sox’s pursuit of superstar outfielder Juan Soto came to a disappointing end late Sunday night.
Soto traded in the pinstripes of the New York Yankees and signed with the club’s cross-town rivals — the Mets.
With even more names circulating around the Red Sox, chief baseball operator Craig Breslow expressed Boston’s intent to “prioritize” the short-term when he spoke with NESN’s Tom Caron about acquiring impact starting pitching.
“Number one, we don’t make the decision by ourselves, and number two, each of those decisions has to make sense,” Breslow said. “I think we’re always in this position trying to balance the short term and the long term, but I think we have strongly signaled, and we don’t intend to change, that we’re going to be prioritizing the short term.”
Breslow continued: “We’ve asked a ton of our fans in terms of patience, and tolerating finishes well below where the Boston Red Sox should be, and so it’s time to deliver, and that may mean taking a bite out of the future in order to prioritize wins in the short term.”
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The Red Sox had reportedly offered Soto at least $700 million to Soto, so if Breslow is true to his word, Boston should be in the hunt for caliber pitchers like Max Fried and Corbin Burnes.
Boston has also been linked to sluggers Teoscar Hernández and Nolan Arenado. The question is, which move can Breslow pull off to improve the Red Sox’s chances next season?
Featured image via Jerome Miron/Imagn Images
