Winners and losers from the Giancarlo Stanton fallout

2. Boston Red Sox

In their first season without David Ortiz, the Boston Red Sox were one of the least-powerful teams in the major leagues, hitting only 168 home runs. Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez could get close to that by themselves next year. Although they won their second straight AL East title last year, the Red Sox are in danger of falling behind the Yankees in the blink of an eye.

Stanton had no interest in going to the Red Sox, so there wasn’t much the team could do on that front. Had he gone to the Dodgers as was his initial preference, the Red Sox would have still needed to add a power bat like J.D. Martinez to better their one ALDS victory in two years. Now, they must add a power bat to keep up with the Yankees.

The Red Sox have the financial means to woo Martinez, but they have not had much luck lately with big-ticket free agents. Carl Crawford, Pablo Sandoval, Hanley Ramirez, and even David Price have not worked out for the Sox. Martinez is the best power source for Boston to chase this winter, but his fit with the team is questionable. He would have to DH, but that would push Ramirez back out to first base.

Boston also has to confront the reality that their window to contend is closing slightly. Closer Craig Kimbrel and starter Drew Pomeranz are free agents after 2018. David Price has an opt-out in his contract, Xander Bogaerts will get to test the open market in two years, as will ace Chris Sale, and then Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley will follow.