The 2020-21 MLB offseason has been very, very slow. And that may be putting it lightly. Most of the top guys, Trevor Bauer, George Springer, J.T. Realmuto to name a few, have yet to sign with any team.
Yes there have been some teams making moves, but really the only big splashes have come from the San Diego Padres, trading for starting pitchers Blake Snell and Yu Darvish. Other than that? Not much.
It was expected that the Boston Red Sox would be one of the more active teams this winter but, instead of signing or trading for anyone, they have just been “interested”. If this offseason were to have an awards show tomorrow, the Sox would be given the trophy for, ‘Most Interested’.
Chaim Bloom and the rest of Boston’s front office have made some minor moves (i.e. Hunter Renfroe), but they haven’t done anything to persuade people that 2021 will be different from 2020. And no, you can’t put the blame on Bloom for how slow the offseason is moving. But at the same time, how many guys can they be interested in and NOT sign?
Here is a list of the guys that the Red Sox have reportedly showed interest to:
- SP Corey Kluber
- SP Charlie Morton (signed with the Atlanta Braves)
- OF Yasiel Puig
- SS Marcus Semien
- SP Tomoyuki Sugano
- RP Alex Colomé
- OF Jackie Bradley Jr. (a familiar face)
- UTIL Kike Hernandez
- SP J.A. Happ
- SP Jake Odorizzi
- SP Tommy Kahnle (they were the runner-ups to the Los Angeles Dodgers)
- INF Ha-Seong Kim (signed with the Sand Diego Padres)
-
The Red Sox have serious interest in RHP Jake Odorizzi, per source. Boston chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was part of the Rays front office when Tampa Bay acquired Odorizzi in December 2012, so there’s plenty of familiarity between the two.
-
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 5, 2021
If I am missing any let me know, but what is going on? I’m sure the market for the player has to be set, but c’mon. There is the obvious interest from Boston to bolster their pitching, but can they really not just give out a good enough offer for someone to accept?
Valentine’s Day card suggestion for people with social anxiety:
Call me the Red Sox, ‘cause I’m interested in you but I’m never gonna do anything about it.
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) January 5, 2021
I mean, money shouldn’t be an issue anymore since they were able to rid themselves of former MVP Mookie Betts, right?
I don’t know. Who knows. It probably is just the market setting itself at the pace of a snail, but sooner or later the Red Sox have to become more than just “interested”.
– Jarrod Ribaudo (@jarrod_ribaudo on Twitter)
