Potential Red Sox Pitching Target Shares Free Agency Preference

   

The Red Sox will have an opportunity to pursue a newly crowned World Series champion, but it might be tough for the club to sway him to Boston.

NESN on X: "A potential Red Sox pitching target made his MLB free agency  preference very clear: https://t.co/XLropphw0n" / X

Jack Flaherty will be one of the best starting pitchers available in Major League Baseball free agency this winter, and he certainly could check a box for a Red Sox team that needs to beef up its rotation. But if the right-hander gets his way, he won’t leave Los Angeles.

“I love this city. I never want to leave,” Flaherty told SportsNet LA during the Dodgers’ championship parade Friday.

Comments made amid such joyous occasions usually should be taken with a grain of salt, but that might not have been booze and the thrill of victory speaking on behalf of Flaherty. The 29-year-old was born and raised in Los Angeles and re-upping with the Dodgers would give him the opportunity to compete for titles for years to come.

That said, LA can’t pay everybody and shelling out an expensive long-term contract to a pitcher who has never been an All-Star and has a bit of an injury history might not be in the organization’s plans. But even if Flaherty does find a way to stay in Chavez Ravine, Boston will have other appealing starters to take a look at on the open market.