The Boston Red Sox: Interest Kings of MLB
Alex Bregman, the most recent star to leave Boston (Getty Images)
“Alms for the poor!” “Alms for the poor!” You can hear the bell ringing along with the panhandling from the Boston Red Sox ownership. It is now January 23rd and Fenway Sports Group wants fans to be excited about Ranger Suárez and his 5 yr/$130M deal. Boston has been linked to marquee free agents ranging from Alex Bregman to Bo Bichette and Kyle Schwarber. Unfortunately, ownership came in lowballing all of these players and acts like Boston isn’t a major market team that has the money to sign two or three of the top free agents available. They’ve only had a top five payroll once since leading the MLB in 2019 with a $243M+ tax payroll. Fast forward to 2026, Boston is 6th in MLB payroll and third in the AL East. The Red Sox are officially the interest kings of MLB!
Ranger Suarez Red Sox Contract (Spotrac)
How I long for the days where they would sign players without hesitation. The Sox would be involved in rumors about Manny Ramirez, and wouldn’t you know it, they would follow through on said star rumors. Fast forward a decade or so since the glory days, and Fenway Sports Group is high on their own EBITDA (earnings). Sam Kennedy and co. say to local reporters (John Henry happens to own a local newspaper) that they are in on almost every free agent, yet they rarely actually sign a tier-one guy. Alex Bregman last season was an anomaly and they brought him in on what ended up being a one year deal at a high AAV. Alex’s presence also made Rafael Devers so frustrated that he forced the Red Sox to trade him for a bag of balls and some gum. They saved all of that Devers money and fans expected those funds to be spent elsewhere. Sure, they traded for Garrett Crochet and extended him, Anthony, and Campbell. Still, these team-friendly deals are likely in vain without added talent from the free agent market to put them over the top.
Right now, the Sox are missing some key pieces to compete in the AL East. The infield is incomplete, outside of newly acquired Willson Contreras at first and Trevor Story at short. Alex Cora no longer has a proven third baseman with the departure of Bregman. They are relying on Marcelo Mayer who has barely played the position and since being drafted has not made it through a full season without injury. At second base, they will look at Romy Gonzalez, who was not bad last year, or Kristian Campbell, who lasted a month in the bigs before being sent down and not seeing Boston again for the rest of the season. The lineup overall is missing pop. You can’t take Devers and Bregman out of the lineup and replace it with nothing. The sentiment on this lineup right now is “Save us Roman, you’re our only hope!”
2026 Red Sox Infield Depth (Fangraphs)
Looking to the North within the AL East, the Jays are actively working to improve their roster after a devastating G7 World Series loss. They signed Dylan Cease and took a chance on Kazuma Okamoto. Baltimore made a splash with Alonso and traded for Shane Baz. The Yankees are the Yankees and brought back their star player, Cody Bellinger, unlike the Sox front office. They are adding Ryan Weathers to their pitching depth and retained Trent Grisham on the qualified offer. Even the Rays have made a couple moves, bringing in both Cedric Mullins and Gavin Lux to shore up the lineup, while also signing Steven Matz to slot in for the rotation. What makes this sting more is that the fan base isn’t asking for recklessness.
No one wants another Rusney Castillo situation. Fans want high end development of players like Roman in conjunction with big name open market signings like David Price circa 2015. That development has translated to a talented young core, but failing to add veteran talent only puts more pressure on guys like Mayer. And yet, every winter ends the same way: with the Red Sox finishing second in the bidding and first in press releases. Boston fans know what a serious contender looks like because they’ve lived through four championships. They’ve watched ownership pull the trigger before and hire guys like Dave Dombrowski to create a top five payroll roster. That’s why this era feels so hollow. The Red Sox don’t need sympathy, spin, or interest banners — they need stars. Until ownership remembers that, the bell will keep ringing, the cries for alms will echo through the offseason, and Fenway will remain loud, loyal, and increasingly fed up.
About the Author
Dan Curran (a.k.a. Yeti Vedder) is from Cumberland, Rhode Island where he lives and teaches. He has been a die hard Boston Red Sox fan for his entire life. He remembers being woken up by his brothers only to watch a ball go through Bill Buckner’s legs. He also remembers sitting in a pub in Ireland at 3 AM while watching Aaron Boone crush his dreams. He also remembers the greatness of 2004 and Big Papi representing our f#%&* city in 2013. Four titles total later is he a bit spoiled??? Sure! Does that mean he will stop complaining? Absolutely not! When Dan is not cheering on the Sox you can find him rocking out to music or doing whatever fantasy sport is in season between football, baseball, and basketball.