Red Sox Reportedly Are In Contact With Free Agent Reigning MVP Aaron Judge
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The Boston Red Sox seem to be keeping all of their options open.
The Red Sox entered the Winter Meetings with plenty of chatter surrounding them, but not many moves. Boston has begun to shore up its bullpen by inking Joely Rodriguez and Chris Martin to deals but hasn't done much else.
Boston has been linked to seemingly every free agent available. This isn't surprising because the Red Sox have plenty of holes to fill after a disappointing 78-84 last-place finish in the American League East in 2022 and plenty of money to spend before hitting the luxury tax.
The biggest and most glaring question swirling around the Red Sox is what they are going to do about shortstop Xander Bogaerts. The four-time All-Star is a free agent and there's been plenty of rumors about which team he will be playing for in 2023 -- both positive and negative for Red Sox fans.
Although the offseason has gotten off to a slow start, mammoth deals are being handed out left and right with Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, and Trea Turner all earning massive paydays. Turner's reported 11-year $300 million is the largest deal handed out right now, but likely will be topped when reigning American League Most Valuable Player Aaron Judge decides where he will be playing in 2023.
While Bogaerts certainly is the Red Sox's biggest question mark right now, the team has kept all options open and even has been in contact with Judge, according to MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo.
The Red Sox have touched base with virtually every top free agent on this year’s market and Aaron Judge is no different, Cotillo said. Boston has been in contact with Judge’s camp but is not one of the most aggressive teams showing interest in the reigning American League MVP, a source said Monday."
Judge would be the perfect fit for a Boston team that lacks outfield depth, but it's highly unlikely the Red Sox would offer the type of deal the 30-year-old will receive from the New York Yankees or San Francisco Giants.
In a perfect world Bogaerts and Judge would both be taking the field at Fenway Park in 2023 wearing Red Sox jerseys with third baseman Rafael Devers after he signed a long-term extension of his own. It's extremely unlikely this would happen, but Red Sox Nation can hope.
A more likely scenario would be just Bogaerts and Devers back in Boston, but the Red Sox will need to up their offers if they want that to happen.
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