Giancarlo Stanton now is a member of the New York Yankees, so how will the Boston Red Sox respond?
The Yankees acquired Stanton on Saturday in a trade with the Miami Marlins. The Red Sox did check on the status of the 2017 National League MVP, but the deal to the Yankees was already in the works and Boston was not on his approved list of teams, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters Monday.
Dave Dombrowski made a last-ditch check-in with Mike Hill last week regarding Stanton, but "he was in the midst of the deal with the Yankees at that point."
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) December 11, 2017
Dave Dombrowski says he talked to Mike Hill about Giancarlo Stanton last week. At that point Marlins were already engaged with Yankees and Red Sox were not on the four team list.
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) December 11, 2017
Dombrowski also shot down the notion that they were looking to improve the starting pitching staff instead of improving the middle of the lineup.
Dombrowski said never told Stanton reps Red Sox were priorizing pitching. Big bat still priority
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) December 11, 2017
Dombrowski: ‘We’re not prioritizing pitching. … middle-of the order bat. That hasn’t changed. First base (or) DH.’
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) December 11, 2017
Boston certainly could use a middle of the order bat or two, but Dombrowski noted he’s unsure if the Red Sox have the room to acquire two hitters.
Dombrowski on whether he’d add two hitters this winter: ‘I don’t know where we’d play the two bats.’
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) December 11, 2017
While Boston has created a buzz early in the offseason in years past, Dombrowski told reporters this winter might be different than previous ones in his Red Sox tenure.
Dombrowski: "I would anticipate this would be a late winter compared to a lot of years. It wouldn't surprise me if major moves were taking place in January."
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) December 11, 2017
There are a number of free agents on the market who could entice the Red Sox, such as J.D. Martinez, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas. Boston also could look to acquire a power hitter like Kyle Schwarber from the Chicago Cubs via trade.
The Yankees made a huge move to try and unseat the Red Sox atop the American League East, now it’s up to the Red Sox to answer.
