They say you rarely get a second opportunity in life, and the message is clear: don’t waste it.
What about the third, fourth, and fifth chances? Squander things, then you deserve to finish last for the third consecutive season, according to a new saying I made up.
Is it time for another Jordan Montgomery column? That’s correct. If you’re wondering why we’ve written so much about the free agent left-hander, it’s because he was the most obvious solution to the Red Sox rotation’s void from the start of the offseason.
Fort Myers, Florida Could Jordan Montgomery join the Red Sox after all?
The longer the 31-year-old lefty is on the market, the better Boston’s chances of striking a deal with a starting pitcher who would fit nicely at the top of the team’s rotation.
Before Boston’s 7-6 walk-off victory over the Phillies at JetBlue Park on Monday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora verified ESPN’s Buster Olney’s claim that the club had “recently” held a Zoom chat with Montgomery.
However, Cora stated that the meeting took occurred about two weeks ago, immediately before Spring Training.
“He’s right, Buster’s right,” Cora remarked. “We Zoomed with Montgomery, but we’ve been Zooming with a lot of people this offseason. I’m not going to go into specifics, but it’s part of the process, and it happened a while ago.”
Is Cora confident the Sox will get another starter before Opening Day?
“I believe we are functioning. We’re working hard to achieve that. If anything happens, it happens. “If it doesn’t happen, it won’t happen,” Cora stated. “But we’ve been working hard all offseason.” It isn’t a lack of effort. There have been a number of meetings and chats. Obviously, [chief baseball officer] Craig [Breslow] has had numerous conversations with agents.
“We’re still working with position players and pitchers. We’re working to improve. If there is an opportunity to do so, I am confident we will take advantage of it.”
In mid-January, Breslow gave many interviews in which he was open about the Red Sox’s emphasis on their youthful core of players and prospects heading into the ’24 season.
Later in the month, club president/CEO Sam Kennedy stated that the team’s payroll would “likely” be less than last season’s Competitive Balance Tax payroll of $225.7 million. Boston’s current payroll is estimated to be somewhat more than $200 million, indicating that the club has room to expand. Rumors persist that closer Kenley Jansen, who is guaranteed $16 million this season, could be sold to free up money to meet another team’s needs.
Several renowned players are still available as free agents in the final week of February. The Red Sox are thought to be focusing heavily on Montgomery and another right-handed bat.
