Red Sox Predicted To Sign All-Star To $160 Million Mega-Deal

The Boston Red Sox didn't make the big, splashy addition to the starting rotation ahead of the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline.

Boston did land Dustin May, but he's a rental and it's far too early to know if he will play a role in 2026. Right now, the Red Sox's rotation is a strength, but it will have questions in the offseason. Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello are under team control and aren't going anywhere. Lucas Giolito has been lights-out in his return overall in 2025 and has some contract questions. If Giolito pitches below 140 innings this season, the Red Sox will have a $14 million club option for 2026 that absolutely be picked up.

If he goes above that, then he'll have a $19 million mutual option that it wouldn't be shocking to see it get turned down with Giolito looking for more security in free agency. That's speculation, though. Beyond these three, there are questions. Walker Buehler has a $25 million mutual option that would be a surprise if it was picked up. Tanner Houck is undergoing Tommy John surgery and will miss a chunk of 2026. Kutter Crawford hasn't had an update in a while. It was shared that Patrick Sandoval isn't expected to pitch this season, but he'll likely be an option next year.

Guys like Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins will be interesting to follow as well.

If Boston wants another high-end hurler, free agency obviously will be a route that the club could go. It will be interesting to see how things shake out, although we are months away. Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller already made an early prediction and predicted Framber Valdez to the Red Sox on a five-year, $160 million deal.

"With Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Christian Walker, Josh Hader, Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr. and (Carlos Correa) owed a combined $159.4M in 2026? With McCullers the only member of that group not also on the books for 2027? And with decisions to be made in the next two years on whether they can keep Isaac Paredes and/or Jeremy Peña for the long haul? Sure seems like they're going to thank Valdez for his services and wish him luck in free agency," Miller said. "And we are talking about some seriously excellent services, just to be clear. Valdez has a sub-3.00 ERA dating back to the beginning of 2022, during which time the only pitchers to accumulate more fWAR than Valdez were Zack Wheeler, Tarik Skubal and Logan Webb...

"Boston figures to be in the market for one of the premier starting pitchers available this winter, especially after the recent news of Tanner Houck's Tommy John surgery. Pairing Valdez with Garrett Crochet would give the Red Sox maybe the best one-two punch in baseball. Prediction: 5 years, $160M with the Boston Red Sox."

This is a fun idea, but much too early. Check back in December.