The Boston Red Sox are one of a handful of teams with the resources needed to acquire Giancarlo Stanton, but they may prefer to find a cheaper middle-of-the-order bat this winter.
Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports is reporting that the Red Sox are not aggressively pursuing Stanton — at least yet. Heyman lists the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies as the teams that have shown the most consistent interest in Stanton, and he notes that Boston “does not appear to be at the forefront of talks.”
We know how quickly things can change during the MLB offseason, but it would make sense for the Red Sox and other teams to consider options outside of a player who is not a free agent and is still owed $295 million over 10 years. The Miami Marlins will likely be willing to eat some salary, but they will want top prospects in return.
While Stanton hit .281 with a whopping 59 home runs and 132 RBI last year, Heyman notes that the Red Sox may prefer to sign someone like free agent outfielder J.D. Martinez, who hit 45 homers in just 119 games with the Arizona Diamondbacks last season. Martinez also batted .303 and would have led the league with his .690 slugging percentage if he had enough at-bats to qualify.
At 30, Martinez is two years older than Stanton and will likely still command a contract worth over $100 million. However, the Red Sox could sign him without giving up top prospects.
