Max Fried ‘considered’ the Red Sox: How could it impact Garrett Crochet’s future?
The baseball offseason featured something of an arms race between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees — a true throwback. The Mets were also involved, but in some cases, the past several months were reminiscent of the annual bidding wars between the rival franchises in the early 2000s.
Both side acquired their guys, but on one big-ticket player, Max Fried, the Yankees got the last laugh, signing him to an eight-year, $218 million dollar deal. Unlike other free agents, Fried was one guy the Sox lost to their nemesis. That becomes more apparent with the recent reports that suggest how close the Red Sox were to actually signing Fried, yet they fell short.
“They were interested and I met with the coaching staff and front office,” Fried said, via Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “Really nice, great people and I definitely considered them.”
But, in the end, the Sox’ reported $190 million offer was not enough to dissuade Fried from heading to New York. Nearly $20 million more must be quite convincing.
In a pivot, the Red Sox acquired Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox for multiple top prospects. What’s interesting about the Crochet deal is its terms (one year, $3.8 million). The money is quite team-friendly, but the length is certainly not. Only having him under contract for one year could become challenging for the Red Sox if they do not come to agreement on an extension, which they’d be better off getting done before the season starts.
Tim Britton of The Athletic recently projected Crochet for a five-year, $110 million deal. Compared to Fried’s contract — and the deals of other aces around the league — the projected numbers for Crochet are well short.
At the end of the day, the Red Sox just have to commit to building a winning team. Locking up Crochet for the long-term, at a comparatively cheap price, would signal to fans that they are ready to finally compete once again.
Luke Graham is a digital sports content co-op for 98.5 the Sports Hub. He is currently a sophomore at Northeastern University studying communications and media studies. Read all his articles here, and follow him on X @LukeGraham05.
