Boston only had a cursory interest in the four-time All-Star. The ballclub reportedly was “in contact” with the right-hander, which implied the Red Sox were doing their due diligence on the free-agent market.
According to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, Burnes agreed to a six-year, $210 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a massive deal for the 2021 National League Cy Young winner, though not near a record-setting pact insiders expected. The San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays outbid the D-backs, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, but the tax difference in Arizona was the dealbreaker.
That’s a tough look for the Jays, especially since they were viewed as one of the favorites to sign Burnes. It’s also a rough outlook for the Baltimore Orioles, a club that didn’t seem close in the sweepstakes to retain their ace.
For the Red Sox, there’s a strong case to be made that Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler combined are better for the rotation than spending a ton of money on Burnes. It’s better than what Toronto and Baltimore have as those teams were left scrambling toward the rest of the pitching market.
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The O’s still have one of the best lineups in the division, so they have that to fall back on. However, for the Blue Jays, this was a disaster offseason when it came to public perception.
They reportedly were in the Juan Soto sweepstakes and were willing to go to historic levels financially, but ultimately missed out on the superstar slugger. They were open to bringing back Teoscar Hernández, but the All-Star instead returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers. If Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walks away, the fan base will be irate on a nuclear level.
There are still moves that can be made; the Red Sox reportedly are still in the running for Alex Bregman. However, when it comes to offseason winners, it’s fair to put Boston ahead of Baltimore and Toronto.
