Good news: The Boston Red Sox appear to have missed out on key free agents for a regrettable reason

The Boston Red Sox entered the 2023 season as the third-most valuable franchise in Major League Baseball. One year later, the MLB team worth more than $4.5 billion is reportedly still losing out on top free agents for financial reasons.

While Boston expressed interest in top free agents like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, both of whom signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, it wasn’t. willing to get into a bidding war with teams like the Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers.

It’s been par for the course from the Red Sox organization. Even after firing chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom in September, Boston’s ownership has stuck to its commitment to keeping payroll down. In the months since hiring Craig Breslow to run baseball operations, it appears the same limitations Bloom worked through are now hindering Breslow.

Once Ohtani and Yamamoto came off the board, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery emerged as two front-line starters who could upgrade Boston’s rotation. The need for more reliable pitching became even stronger after the Red Sox traded Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves.

According to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe, the Red Sox are currently out on Snell and Montgomery due to the franchise’s unwillingness to commit to long-term contracts. This lack of financial commitment has caused top free agents to seek other opportunities.

In November, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner vowed to fans that the organization would go “full throttle” to improve the roster this offseason. In the following months, Boston traded Sale to Atlanta and shipped off outfielder Alex Verdugo to the New York Yankees.

While Snell’s contract demands would partially explain Boston’s lack of involvement for him, the same can’t be said for Montgomery. The World Series champion is expected to sign a deal with a lower average annual value than Snell and Montgomery’s wife is in residency at Harvard Medical School.