MLB Rumors: Cubs RP reunion, Red Sox smoke-screen, another Yankees blockbuster trade

MLB Rumors: Red Sox quietly still working, connected to Jordan Montgomery

You'd be hard-pressed to find a Boston Red Sox fan at this point in the offseason who isn't at least a little perturbed with the way things have transpired in the first winter under the direction of Craig Breslow. The "full throttle" promise at the start of the offseason has proven fruitless time and again. So much so that it has recently seemed as if the organization's brass is wholly backing off from that.

But what if that is just a smoke-screen and, in fact, the Red Sox still have something that they're cooking up to help substantially bolster the roster for the 2024 season?

That may be the case, at least according to one MLB insider. Jon Heyman recently broke down seven big-market teams that are "still active" in free agency and the Red Sox were among them. And what the insider had to say via the NY Post was quite intriguing as it pertains to Boston:

"They initially said they were going “full throttle,” but after coming up short on numerous guys, they recently said their payroll may actually dip from 2023, when they finished last for the third time in four years. Their higher-ups received a frosty reception at a recent fan event, but they also know Boston fans are extremely loyal. They do appear to be looking. They like Montgomery, whose wife is a medical student in Boston."

Heyman isn't fully dispelling the notion that the Red Sox aren't going to be the major overall players that fans hoped they'd be based on Breslow's initial comments, but he does seem to be indicating that a big move could still be in the works as Boston is "looking" around for such a deal to be made. What's more, he once again connected them to one of the two white whales still swimming in the starting pitching market, Jordan Montgomery.

Particularly with Chris Sale now on the Braves in a trade that landed the Red Sox an answer at second base in Vaughn Grissom, Boston desperately needs an upgrade for the starting rotation, and filling the Sale-shaped void with another lefty would likely be ideal as well. Montgomery would fit that bill to a tee and, if Breslow and Co. are willing to pay up, there seems to be some level of connection there.