Red Sox Predicted To Sign 4-Time All-Star To Blockbuster $218.5 Million Deal

Was the Garrett Crochet deal just the beginning?

Aug 22, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes (39) greeted by catcher Adley Rutschman (35) at the end of the third inning against the Houston Astros at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

It's been a banner week for Major League Baseball, and the Boston Red Sox were finally at the forefront of the action.

On Wednesday, the Red Sox pulled off the biggest trade of the offseason thus far, landing All-Star lefty Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for four top prospects. But what if that was only the beginning of the offseason plan for domination?

The Red Sox don't need to stop at adding one starting pitcher, and they've made a pledge to open up their wallets in free agency that has yet to be fulfilled. That could change at any moment.

After the rival New York Yankees signed Max Fried to a monster eight-year contract on Tuesday, the Red Sox quickly struck back with the Crochet trade. But if they want to go for the jugular, there's another ace available still in free agency who would take them to the next level: Corbin Burnes.

On Friday, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report predicted that the Red Sox would sign Burnes to a six-year, $218.5 million contract, barely topping the value of Fried's deal with the Yankees, but spread out over two fewer seasons.

"Even after trading for Garrett Crochet earlier this week, the Red Sox still feel like the strongest candidate, even though they've kind of balked at the price tags for both Burnes and Max Fried in the past week," Miller said.

"After all, Crochet's projected $2.9M salary for 2025 did nothing to impact Boston's ability to pay Burnes, and they entered this offseason needing to add multiple starting pitchers. They got one for a platter of prospects and they'll add the other for a boatload of money."

Few pitchers have been as dependable or as dominant as Burnes for the last half-decade. He has a 2.88 ERA since the start of the 2020 season, making four-straight All-Star Games and winning the Cy Young Award in 2021. At 30, he's still got lots of good years left in the tank.

Burnes has been closely tied to the San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays as well, but the Red Sox's future looks brighter than either of those two teams. If they can match the money, it seems like a logical choice for Burnes to slide to Boston.

More MLB: Red Sox 'Had Some Talks' With Former Orioles All-Star To Pair With Garrett Crochet