"Red Sox were trying to get Juan Soto, Max Fried" - MLB insider believes Boston has to acquire Alex Bregman, Corbin Burnes to stay relevant

The Boston Red Sox are looking to strengthen the roster in the offseason following an underwhelming 2024 season under Alex Cora as the AL East team failed to make the postseason.

However, the Red Sox saw two of their top targets in free agency, Juan Soto and Max Fried, commit their future to other teams this month. While the New York Mets broke the MLB record for Soto with a $756,000,000 deal, bitter rivals New York Yankees signed Max Fried to a lucrative $218,000,000 contract on Tuesday.

MLB insider Jeff Passan reflected on a busy start to the MLB Winter Meetings, talking about potential future signings in a chat with "SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt."

Passan said (2:00 onwards):

"The Winter Meetings has gotten off to a pretty busy start getting Juan Soto down, getting Max Fried down and I think it's really a question at this point of what teams are left that have money and how much are those guys in the top tier going to get. Alex Bregman is a perfect example. The Boston Red Sox would like to have Alex Bregman, the Houston Astros want to resign him, the Detroit Tigers are going to be in the mix as well."

Talking about the Red Sox's potential deals, Passan said:

"I'm not sure If the Boston Red Sox are going to go all in, but I think they kind of have to at this point because this is an organization that won four World Series over a 15-year period. And yet, over the last five years, they finished in last place three times and made the playoffs only once. They were trying to get Juan Soto, got whiffed, they were trying to get Max fried, got whiffed, they were trying to get Nathan Evoldi, got whiffed.

"The Red Sox have money. They have the opportunity to go out there and get guys, and whether it's Bregman or Corbin Burnes, they need to do it because of the core that they have right now and the farm system."

Red Sox expected to amp pursuit of Corbin Burnes after missing out on Max Fried

The Red Sox strengthened the bullpen with the addition of veteran reliever Aroldis Chapman earlier this month. The former Yankees reliever signed a one-year $10.75 million contract.

After reportedly missing out on Max Fried, the Red Sox are expected to push for another ace in free agency. The AL East team is reportedly pursuing former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes.