3 moves Red Sox must make to punch back at Yankees’ Juan Soto trade
The Yankees finally, actually did it: they got Juan Soto. After months of speculating about a blockbuster trade that would land Soto in New York, he's really, truly headed to the Bronx, and Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman are doing their best approximation of evil cartoon character cackling. The Red Sox need to use this as incentive to get going, sign some much needed players, and be more aggressive overall if they are going to compete against the Yankees next year.
The Red Sox have been mired in "interest in" a lot of players this offseason but they haven't landed any of them yet; it doesn't seem like they've even been in advanced stages of negotiations with any of them yet. There are a lot of cards still on the table, to be fair — Soto is one of the first major pieces to actually move. However, this should ignite a fire in the Red Sox front office. They have to do something.
3 moves Red Sox must make to punch back at Yankees’ Juan Soto trade
This year's free agencies and the trade market have been especially shrouded in secrecy, seemingly motivated by the top secret nature of Shohei Ohtani's search for a new home next year. Could it be that the Red Sox have more going on than we think, but they're just keeping it quiet? Maybe, but that seems just a tad bit too optimistic, and sitting back and trusting that the front office will make something big happen feels a tad bit complacent. Let's yell at Craig Breslow! Make something happen, Craig!
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Now that it looks like the Red Sox have no hope of signing Shohei Ohtani, they can and should focus all of their attention and money on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, especially now that the Yankees' talks with him have gotten deeper. The two parties are expected to meet in New York on Monday, and this after Steve Cohen and David Stearns showed Yamamoto how serious they are about him coming to the Mets by flying all the way to Japan for what has been described as a "quick" meeting. Steve Cohen money is Steve Cohen money, and the Red Sox might not be able or willing to fly reps all the way to Japan for a meeting, but that's not the only option. Convince Yamamoto to make a quick stop up in Boston following his conversation with the Yankees, perhaps?
The same Athletic article that laid out the details of the Cohen/Stearns/Yamamoto meeting explicitly named the Yankees, Giants, Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Mets. Author Will Sammon also mentioned two more unidentified clubs, which shouldn't exactly invoke warm, reassured feelings from Red Sox fans that their team is in on the hunt, but it still leaves a door open. The last thing the Red Sox can do is let Yamamoto follow Soto to New York without a real fight. There are clearly a lot of other parts to this equation, and it's highly possible that the other Yamamoto suitors (particularly their fellow division rivals in Toronto) have a similar motivation not to let him go to the Yankees. But this should still be priority No. 1 for the Red Sox.
Jordan Montgomery
The Yankees have also been connected to former Yankee Jordan Montgomery, who the Red Sox are confirmed to be in on and who is literally living in Boston during the offseason. Though it's sort of amusing to think about the Yankees crawling back to Montgomery, who they dumped in St. Louis after Brian Cashman decided he wouldn't be a good postseason pitcher. The irony there is clear. While the Yankees admitting they were wrong about something would be a real novelty, this is another signing that the Red Sox can't lose to New York. With all of Boston's talk and concern about bolstering their starting rotation, dominoes are starting to fall in that market and the team is still inert.
Montgomery is living in Boston right now and is pitching at Boston College facilities, which are a 15 minute drive from Fenway. If there was ever a perfect context to hone in on a player who's in high demand, it's this. Even if the Red Sox lose Yamamoto to any other team, Montgomery is still very good at what he does, will come cheaper than Yamamoto, and is in the most prime position to be courted by the Red Sox. He may be a more plausible option for them because he'll cost millions fewer dollars than Yamamoto will. This is another acquisition that Boston not only can't afford to let New York get, but one that they shouldn't let get away to anyone else, either.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
The market on Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was quiet until just a few days ago, when Jon Morosi connected the Red Sox to Gurriel, Michael A. Taylor, and Martin Maldonado. As outfielders, Gurriel and Taylor make sense for the Red Sox, who just traded Alex Verdugo to the Yankees for almost nothing in return. Despite Taylor's elite defense, Gurriel has the edge offensively and is still an above-average outfielder. Gurriel is the only player on this list who the Red Sox aren't known to be actively competing against the Yankees for, and he's a better defensive player than the one the Red Sox just let the Yankees run away with.
Getting Gurriel adds experience and adds a bat that seems to be improving with age. With the Diamondbacks, he had a career-best year in home runs (24) and fWAR, and a near-best year in RBI (82). It's not only a good move for the team in general, it's a way to tell the Yankees that not only did they just receive their problem child, they found a replacement for him that will be better in the outfield and has a comparable bat.
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