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The Red Sox Should Steal This Upcoming Free Agent Away From the Yankees After the 2020 Season

By Tristan Jung

Yankees mound visit during the 2019 American League Championship series.
Yankees mound visit during the 2019 American League Championship series. / Elsa/Getty Images
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The Boston Red Sox were widely panned in the 2020 offseason after trading away Mookie Betts. In order to start competing in the future and to regain the trust of fans, they will need to make some big signings. Their arch-rivals, the New York Yankees, would be a good place to start scouting for additions.

The Yankees are undoubtedly in control of the AL East at the moment, as they are overwhelming favorites to win the division in 2020. However, after the season ends, the Red Sox would be a likely suitor for starting pitcher James Paxton, who will be hitting free agency.

The Red Sox are in desperate need of starting pitching. Even with the season on hold, Chris Sale is undergoing Tommy John and the Red Sox have been reduced to one decent starting pitcher in Eduardo Rodriguez for 2020. No team can win a division with a rotation of Brian Weber, Brian Johnson and Martín Perez, so adding starters should be a top priority.

James Paxton is one of the most talented pitchers in the American League. His career fielding independent pitching (FIP) is 3.28 and he routinely posts double-digit strikeout rates. While he has his own issues staying healthy, he would still be a much-needed addition to the Red Sox's staff.

Moreover, with the Yankees recently offering a huge deal to Gerrit Cole, they may not be able to muster the resources to match Paxton's asking price. Masahiro Tanaka and D.J. LeMahieu are also in need of new deals, and re-signing Paxton to a huge contract may not be in their best interest. For once, teams could be in position to out-bid the Yankees.

If the Red Sox traded Mookie Betts for financial flexibility, they'd better start using that money to sign some starting pitchers (and to please the fans). Just adding Paxton likely won't be enough, but it could seriously damage the Yankees' rotation while giving the Red Sox a quality player. A win-win situation for Boston.

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Tristan Jung is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Tristan Jung also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username tristan1117. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.