Red Sox should be out on Trevor Bauer after contract demands surface

The Boston Red Sox should avoid the steep price of Trevor Bauer

Late last evening, the speculated contract that top free-agent pitcher Trevor Bauer is looking for in signing with a new club was reported by MLB Insider Jon Heyman, only to be refuted by Bauer himself. For those unfamiliar with Bauer’s antics on social media, well, let’s just say he is willing to put on a display online. The years and salary being floated basically rule out a Bauer reunion with his former club, the Cincinnati Reds. Believe it or not, this news affects two teams affiliated with the color red: the aforementioned Reds and the Boston Red Sox.

Bauer has made it clear that he wants to be paid just as much (if not more than) his ex-college teammate Gerrit Cole was during last year’s offseason. Whether $36 -$40 million is a feasible option for any team after the events that led to a downward spiral in revenue is a great question. Cole’s $36 million seemed to be about as high as the bar could go, but to think that up to $40 million is now in discussion for the record is a scary thought for the future of the game.

Once the Reds had been eliminated from the playoffs, Bauer had his fun during the remainder of the postseason, traveling around the country to pay various teams’ ballpark visits, tweeting at teams’ official Twitter accounts, and making theoretical statements about where he would like to play. Once again, Trevor Bauer doing Trevor Bauer things. The Red Sox were one of the several teams to be mentioned during the spree of tweets when the right-hander tweeted the official Red Sox with the following:

With the postseason underway, teams were to refrain from any type of external engagement with soon-to-be free agents, so Boston did not comment. This tweet did cause (as it had in several other cities) an uproar with people growing hopeful that Bauer would eventually pitch for Boston next season.

After details surfaced regarding what he wants in a contract, it’s safe to say Boston is in fact not “up”. At least in the sense that they would be up to pay a starting pitcher a large sum of money a year after getting out from half of their last big-money pitching contract. If management thought David Price’s $30 million AAV was bad, try signing a similar contract while tacking on an additional $6 to $10 million per year. Doubtful.

Not to mention the overall fit in Boston likely from an off-the-field point of view. Bauer’s presence in the Red Sox clubhouse could very well be a good thing for the team or the exact opposite. He might have a functional relationship with teammates and coaches, but Boston’s media does have a reputation for being fairly blunt when it comes to a player’s on-field performance, good or bad. As seen above, Bauer has a reputation for responding to comments made about him which could be toxic in the long run.

In addition to comments that Chaim Bloom made a few weeks ago about the importance of a second-round pick (which Boston would forfeit in signing Bauer), it seems there is already a strong enough case for not making this deal happen.

Considering Boston has more than one issue to address on the 26-man roster, the speculation that Bauer might eventually land in Boston can finally be put to rest as the money he seeks would prove too detrimental of a blow for a team that is looking to spend wisely and has the flexibility to add pieces when necessary.