The Boston Red Sox eventually figured out how to have quite the offseason heading into 2025. Finalizing the Garrett Crochet trade gave Boston a guy with frontline starter talent through at least 2030 after they inked him to an extension, and adding Alex Bregman gave the offense a needed boost.
Now, the team can start making more plans for the future. They already extended Kristian Campbell, and doing the same for Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu may not be the worst idea. One upcoming free agent that could have been preventing other such long-term commitments was the alluring Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
In a lot of ways, Guerrero Jr. was the perfect target. He has the name recognition and fearlessness to energize a big market fanbase, is one of the better hitters in all of baseball, and one of his favorite pastimes is thrashing the Yankees. And let's not forget the Instagram post he liked this offseason indicating he'd enjoy joining a super team in Boston. He would not come cheap whatsoever, but stars almost never do, and Vladdy Jr. might be worth the risk. Since 2022, Guerrero Jr.'s 138 wRC+ ranks 16th in all of baseball, and that was with his "down" 2023 season.
Unfortunately, that dream for the Red Sox is dead, as Guerrero Jr. just agreed to a massive extension with the Blue Jays that will have him terrorizing Boston for years to come.
Dreams of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signing with Red Sox are dead after Blue Jays extension
Heading into the season, there were a lot of reasons to believe that Boston adding Guerrero Jr. was the most likely outcome. Toronto and Guerrero Jr. clearly couldn't get on the same page in extension talks, and his deadline for said talks before the 2025 season passed without a deal. As for the Red Sox side, Guerrero Jr. has long been linked to the Red Sox, and rumors persisted that Boston was one of his preferred eventual landing spots.
Instead, the Blue Jays found a way to bridge the gap with Guerrero Jr. and revitalize their hope of not becoming the laughingstock of the AL East. The odds remain high that they will lose Bo Bichette after the 2025 season, but locking up Guerrero Jr. now makes Toronto an even more appealing destination for free agents in the future, and sadly he also makes them a dangerous team all by himself for the foreseeable future.
With Guerrero Jr. off the market, attention now turns to other potential free agent options for the Red Sox after the season. Pete Alonso could opt out of his deal with the Mets and would fill a similar role, but that would feel like a significant step down. Kyle Tucker might be the best hitter available on the market, while Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, and Shōta Imanaga (if his team option is declined) all could be intriguing starting pitching options.
Do any of those options carry the same weight as a guy like Guerrero Jr.? Absolutely not, but the Red Sox can only control so much in terms of who is available. With all of the talent that the Red Sox have coming from the minor leagues these days, having one less name in the mix (even if it is a guy like Vladdy Jr.) might not be the worst thing anyways.