MLB Rumors: Corbin Burnes Interests Red Sox After Garrett Crochet Trade

The Boston Red Sox made quite the splash when they announced they acquired Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, but they might not be done adding headline pitchers this offseason.

Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported the American League East team is "still exploring both top-of-the-rotation options—including Corbin Burnes—and mid-tier options," while Jon Morosi of MLB Network noted Boston is attempting to trade for a starter from the Seattle Mariners.

Speier provided additional context to Boston's offseason efforts:

It is clear pitching is a priority for the Red Sox this offseason, as Chris Cotillo of Mass Live reported they also "made a serious run" at pursuing Max Fried in free agency before the New York Yankees landed him with an eight-year, $128 million contract.

Cotillo also brought up Burnes as a target for Boston and pointed out the team was "readying an offer" for him, as of Tuesday.

Crochet is quite the starting point for pitching for the Red Sox this offseason, as he was an All-Star last season in Chicago and finished with a 3.58 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 209 strikeouts in 146 innings.

He was a strikeout machine even as the White Sox limited his innings some as a first-time starter, and he will look to build on that in Boston.

Adding Burnes on top of Crochet would be a problem for opposing American League East lineups.

After all, the former is coming off a fourth straight All-Star season, adding to a resume that also features the 2021 National League Cy Young from his time on the Milwaukee Brewers and the ERA title (2.43) in that same season.

Last year was his first in the American League after six with the Brewers, and he showed no sign of dropping off with a 2.92 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 181 strikeouts for the Baltimore Orioles. Burnes helped lead the Orioles to the playoffs and is now familiar with the division after spending the 2024 season in it.

Boston is looking to leapfrog Baltimore and New York in the division in 2025, and adding Burnes while the Orioles lose him would drastically help those efforts.