MLB Rumors: Red Sox 'Appear Hesitant' on Corbin Burnes; Nick ...

Having seen their main rivals in the New York Yankees add Max Fried to their rotation, the Boston Red Sox are exploring several options to upgrade their pitching staff for next season.

Per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Red Sox "appear hesitant" to pay what it would cost to add former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes.

Feinsand did note Boston could reunite with Nick Pivetta, who has spent the past five seasons with the club.

Burnes is the last of the marquee free-agent starting pitchers still available with Fried and Blake Snell off the board.

Fried agreed to an eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees on Tuesday, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. The deal is the richest in MLB history for a left-handed pitcher, surpassing the seven-year, $217 million contract David Price got from Boston in December 2015.

Given that Burnes was widely regarded as the top free-agent pitcher available, it's safe to assume he is anticipating a deal worth more than what Fried got from the Yankees.

Boston's concern about the cost for Burnes isn't unfounded. He had his lowest strikeout percentage (23.1), strikeouts per nine innings (8.4) and highest hit rate (7.6 per nine innings) last season since becoming a full-time starter in 2020.

Even though Burnes' swing-and-miss stats weren't as impressive as they had been in previous years, he still finished with a 2.92 ERA in 194.1 innings for the Baltimore Orioles in 2024.

If the Red Sox are looking for a frontline starter, they might be better served to look at the trade market. They have already been connected to Dylan Cease if the San Diego Padres decide to deal him, per MLB Network's Jon Morosi.

Pivetta is very familiar with the Red Sox organization. He was originally acquired by the team in August 2020 in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Boston extended a qualifying offer worth $21.05 million to Pivetta earlier in the offseason that he rejected. The right-hander had a 4.14 ERA and 172 strikeouts in 146.1 innings in 27 appearances last season.

The Red Sox should try to come out of this offseason with at least two quality starting pitchers. Their rotation as presently constructed features Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford in the top three spots.