Usually by this level within the winter the Red Sox have already gotten most of their purchasing carried out, and the vast majority of the large free brokers can have discovered new groups. So far this offseason that hasn’t occurred, and lots of Red Sox followers are rising stressed ready for the membership to make a transfer.
Yet whereas it appears on the floor just like the Red Sox haven’t carried out something, supervisor Alex Cora insists rather a lot has been happening behind the scenes.
Speaking to WEEI’s Rob Bradford on the Baseball Isn’t Boring Podcast, Cora addressed the gradual tempo of the offseason and offered his perspective on why issues have performed out the best way they’ve.
“We’re working. (Craig Breslow) is working, the group is working, it just hasn’t happened, yet,” Cora stated. “But it hasn’t happened (business-wide). These two guys have dominated the game, Ohtani dominated the whole Winter Meetings, Yamamoto is doing the same thing right now, and in this case I believe it’s taking longer because the guy is really intrigued with the possible teams he might play.”
After Shohei Ohtani signed a record-breaking 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto grew to become essentially the most extremely coveted free agent available on the market. The 25-year-old is predicted to command a deal approaching $300 million, and Cora stated Yamamoto has been rightfully diligent about deciding which staff he’d prefer to play for in MLB.
“He’s doing his homework and he’s doing everything possible to get to know organizations and I believe he’s doing what he’s supposed to,” Cora stated. “It’s a big deal, this is not a one-year deal or a two-year deal with an opt out after next year, no no no, this is game-changing, not only for him or his agency but for the organization that ends up with him. He’s taking his time and because he’s taking his time the other guys have to be patient.”
Cora went on to notice that whereas some organizations just like the St. Louis Cardinals have moved aggressively to signal their guys, others have waited for the market to begin shifting. Presumably that features the Red Sox, who’ve solely made one small free agent signing up to now however are reportedly making a robust push to land Yamamoto.
Though Cora declined to substantiate whether or not or not Yamamoto has visited Fenway Park — he reportedly visited with the Yankees and Mets over the weekend — he make clear how the Red Sox have recruited him and different free brokers up to now.
“We’ve talked to a lot of people, the process is a little bit different than in the past with our calls, and I think we’ve done an outstanding job presenting our program, presenting what we’re all about,” Cora stated. “We’ve been very honest about the last two years, this is something we don’t like, it’s not acceptable and we’re in the process of trying to get better.”
With Yamamoto particularly, he famous that the younger Japanese star doesn’t solely have former Orix Buffaloes teammate Masataka Yoshida to speak to in regards to the Red Sox, however a lot of his present teammates in Japan.
“We have guys who played with him this year who had the experience of playing in New York, experience playing in Boston, experience playing in Houston, he played with people that are ex-MLB players and they have the insight of a lot of stuff,” Cora stated, including that one thing like visiting a ballpark isn’t the be all and finish all. “The novelty, that’s in the past. They really want to know what the organization is all about. That’s what they want to know.”
While a lot of the discourse surrounding the Red Sox recently has been in regards to the group’s need to construct in direction of the longer term, Cora appropriately famous that free brokers aren’t as focused on how good a membership will probably be down the road. They wish to know the way good the staff might be this yr, and that has been entrance and middle of their recruiting efforts this winter.
“They’re not starting to play with the Red Sox in three or four years, they’re starting right now, it’s 2024,” Cora stated. “So far it’s been a great process, very busy to be honest with you, but I don’t mind that.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com