Red Sox Insider Dumps Cold Water On Reported Bo Bichette Pursuit

The Boston Red Sox might not be interested in poaching on of their biggest rivals, after all.

CBS Sports’ Julian McWilliams reported on Thursday that the club wouldn’t be in on free agent Bo Bichette “unless his market changes” — which feels like a long shot given the moves that have been completed.

The Philadelphia Phillies reportedly retained designated hitter Kyle Schwarber on a five-year, $150 million contract. The New York Mets made substantial changes in the bullpen with their reported $51 million addition of Devin Williams. The Los Angeles Dodgers took advantage of that to up the stakes and shell out $69 million for Edwin Diaz.

It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, but the point is that top-flight free agents aren’t taking any sort of discounts…

Bichette, Bichette, 27, has been consistently lethal with the bat, slashing .292/.335/.460 with 95 home runs and 393 RBIs across the last five seasons — receiving MVP votes in every year but 2024. The Red Sox would be able to slot him anywhere in the top half of their lineup, while also potentially giving themselves an answer at second or third base.

Boston reportedly held a virtual meeting that “went well” with the two-time All-Star, according to 7 News’ Ari Alexander. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon, WEEI’s Rob Bradford and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale have all connected the two sides at different points over the last couple of weeks — so perhaps the sudden disinterest is a negotiating tactic.

It’ll be interesting to see how things progress moving forward, because time is quickly running out at MLB’s Winter Meetings.