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Once Juan Soto does sign his deal, the team that nabs him is probably going to let a few of their backup plans go somewhere else. The latest Soto rumors seem to strongly suggest this could end up as a fist fight between the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox. Red Sox fans are stirring the pot with false reports of him coming to an agreement with the BoSox while Mets fans look for any photograph they can of Soto with orange and blue in there, too. Bonus points if it actually includes a Mets logo.
Two big market teams in the Northeast and foes from the 1986 World Series, this pair of clubs built up a good working relationship last year with multiple player for cash trades. This shouldn’t negate some friendly competition between David Stearns and fellow Ivy Leaguer Craig Breslow. Each should be bidding high on these other free agents not named Soto this offseason.
1) Corbin Burnes
No pitcher deserves a bigger contract than Corbin Burnes this offseason. Five straight seasons of finishing in the top 8 of the Cy Young race including a victory in 2021, he has been everything and more you’d want in an ace. Even with some of the numbers down last year, he still managed to win a career-high 15 games all while doing it with a 2.92 ERA—the second lowest in a season since he became a full-time starter in 2021.
Burnes is the big prize to add to a rotation this winter. Long speculated to be a target of Stearns because of their familiarity from their time with the Milwaukee Brewers, we shouldn’t sleep on the Red Sox nabbing him instead.
When you take a big swing and miss on a player such as Soto, you need to come away with the second best option. That’s who Burnes is. Both ball clubs could use him at the top of a potentially strong rotation that lacks a true ace starting on Opening Day.