It is Past Time for the Red Sox to Spend in Free Agency

Can you believe that it’s only been six years since the Boston Red Sox were the class of MLB? Three straight years atop the AL East eventually culminated in the franchise’s ninth World Series championship in its history. 

Since then, the script has been flipped. Just one playoff appearance for one of baseball’s most storied franchises and three last-place finishes in the division over the last six seasons. 

Two of those last-place finishes took place in 2022 and 2023, but the Sox took a step forward this past year. They stayed in contention for a playoff spot through the final week of the season before ultimately finishing third in the AL East with an 81-81 record. 

A youth movement led the way for Boston in 2024. On offense, now 28-year-olds Rafael Devers and Jarren Duran and each had All-Star seasons and also each received votes for AL MVP while 25-year-old Wilyer Abreu was one of the top rookies in the Junior Circuit and even earned a Gold Glove for his defensive efforts. 

Meanwhile on the pitching side. All-Star starter Tanner Houck was joined by Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello, and Cooper Criswell, among others, to finish top 10 in the league in starters’ ERA (3.81). All four of those pitchers are under the age of 30 as well. 

Having that strong core, both in the batting order and in the starting rotation, will go a long way toward getting the Red Sox back into the postseason. But to truly compete not only in the division but for a World Series once again, they’ll need to do more than keep relying on what they already have. 

The Red Sox Must Spend in Free Agency

Back with Boston was a regular postseason contender, they weren’t afraid to spend money. They were tops in MLB in total payroll in 2018 and 2019 according to Spotrac and were top five for several years before that. 

Designated hitter J.D. Martinez and pitchers David Price and Nathan Eovaldi all earned big free agent contracts from the Red Sox during their big contention window. Even with the pocketbook already bulging, it didn’t matter when 2018 brought a World Series ring. 

Since former president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was let go in early 2019, Boston hasn’t been as big of spenders. They haven’t been in the top five in total payroll since 2020 and were below the top ten spenders in each of the last two years. 

Spending doesn’t mean everything, as we’ve seen more frugal teams like the Brewers, Rays, Diamondbacks, and Guardians make the playoffs over the years. But it certainly can help. All six of the top MLB spenders made the postseason last year and most years the case is similar to that. 

And if there were ever a time for the Red Sox to be one of those big spending teams, it’s now. 

The AL East is always a juggernaut and two teams from the division, the Yankees and Orioles, made the playoffs in 2024. The former of which ended up being the American League’s representative in the World Series. 

Both teams, however, find themselves having to replace important parts of their roster from last season. The Yankees saw perennial MVP candidate Juan Soto hit free agency along with All-Star closer Clay Holmes, infielder Gleyber Torres, former Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo, and more. 

The Orioles took some big blows to the roster as well. Starter Corbin Burnes, a top-three pitcher in all of baseball, and Anthony Santander, one of their top offensive producers, also became free agents this offseason. 

There is always the rest of the division to worry about as well. The Blue Jays are a bit of a team in flux right now but have enough pieces where they could be dangerous again if they go about the offseason the right way. And as mentioned earlier, the Rays don’t spend much but are a well-run organization and will contend at a moment’s notice. 

In addition to the AL East potentially being vulnerable, there hasn’t been this much parity in MLB in some time. In fact, 2024 was the first time in a decade in which there were no 100-game winners with the Dodgers setting the pace at 98-64. 

The opportunity is there for the Red Sox to not only get back to the playoffs, but to make a run for the division and make their playoff run a deep one as well. Staying put isn’t likely to do the trick, though. They need to cut some checks to get the job done.