Wily Adames playing for the Milwaukee Brewers; CC by License 2.0
The Red Sox have been fairly disappointing over the past few years. Since 2020, they’ve made the playoffs only once. They’ve been consistently under .500, finishing this year with a perfectly balanced record of 81-81. It’s time to shake some things up, as the Sox faithful is beginning to become restless with the mediocrity that has been on display at Fenway for the last few seasons. Fortunately, the organization has one of the best farm systems in baseball and some cash to spend this off-season. Let’s dive into some of the potential moves that they could make.
Juan Soto, OF, 26 years old
The best player available in this free agency is one of the best players in the game in Juan Soto. After a monster season in the Bronx in 2024, he’s officially an unrestricted free agent and is set to sign potentially the largest contract ever. The Red Sox are currently projected to be $110 million under the competitive balance tax for 2025, and while they may have the funds to acquire a player of Soto’s status, recent trends within the front office and ownership may suggest that they won’t be willing to pay as much as say Steve Cohen and the Mets. However, if there were ever a time to do so, that time would be now. The Sox are on the brink of entering their first championship window in recent memory with a quarter of highly touted prospects set to make their debuts in 2025 in Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, and Kyle Teel. Adding one of the best players in the world to this group could open up a world of possibilities.
Corbin Burnes, RHP, 30 years old
Burnes, a former member of the Baltimore Orioles, fits the bill for the strong push the Red Sox are making to acquire a true ace this offseason. The club lacked any true frontline pitching in 2024, but they seem intent on obtaining one before the start of the 2025 season. Burnes would be an excellent fit for Fenway as he keeps the ball on the ground to the tune of a 48.8 ground ball rate last year. While the stuff has seen some minor regressions in recent years, it is still certainly quality enough to place him at the top of this Red Sox rotation. If his bidding gets too high, however, I would imagine and hope that the Sox would bail out before making a risky move. A front-loaded shorter-term deal feels like the right price to pay for Burnes with the stuff regressions mentioned above.
Garrett Crochet (via trade), LHP, 25 years old
The Red Sox have been one of many teams linked to the White Sox standout this offseason. In his first season as a starter, Crochet pitched to the tune of a 1.07 WHIP with 209 strikeouts in 146 innings pitched. A true power pitcher, Crochet throws almost exclusively fastballs, alternating between his four-seam and cutter. While this doesn’t align very neatly with the Red Sox’s philosophy of throwing minimal fastballs, Crochet’s fastball is comfortably an outlier pitch and has shown that it can be uber-successful in limiting damage and collecting whiffs. It’s rumored that the White Sox are targeting Wilyer Abreau as the headline piece for a trade between the clubs. Abreau had a solid campaign in 2024, but with Roman Anthony more than likely headed to Boston next year, I would be entirely comfortable with giving him up to acquire Crochet. Boston has what some may refer to as an embarrassment of riches in their farm system, and now may be the time to unload some of them to make a real playoff push for 2025.
Nathan Eovaldi, RHP, 34 years old
While Eovaldi may not fit the criteria of an ace, his addition to the pitching staff could add some much needed depth in 2025. Similar to Burnes, Eovaldi does a great job of keeping the ball on the ground and away from the Monster in left field. While he’s on the older end, his performance and stuff have remained fairly sharp over the past few years. In 2024, he was 12-8 with a 3.80 ERA and a solid .291 wOBA. He limits damage and keeps the ball out of the air, two necessary qualities to have when pitching at Fenway Park. Eovaldi has been a member of the Red Sox before when he played a vital role in the 2018 World Series win. Fans would love to see him back in Boston, and he would be a really solid pickup for the rotation.
Willy Adames, SS, 29 years old
Adames is one of my personal favorite players available on the market this offseason, and he would fill a hole on the left side of the Boston infield. Last year with the Brewers, Adames put up a triple slash of .251/.331/.462 with 32 home runs and 21 stolen bases. The majority of his swings produce a fly ball, and he gets it to the pull-side at a 43.9% rate. Both of these should bring him success with the short-porch Monster out in left field. Defensively, Adames has played a very solid shortstop for the Brewers the past few years, posting a 16 outs above average (OAA) in 2023 from the position. However, he’s indicated that he’s willing to play third as well. If the Sox want to stick with Story at short and Campbell at second, Adames could easily slide into the hot corner and take over for Rafael Devers, who struggles with the glove. The additional positional versatility and offensive explosiveness should entice the Red Sox front office and hopefully be enough for them to get a deal done.
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