Ken Rosenthal throwing cold water on Red Sox-Carlos Correa is great for Yankees

Whether it’s true or not, New York Yankees fans will take any and all lockout buzz that seems to be in their favor. Too many times has this team fallen victim to underwhelming offseasons and trade deadlines only to see their rivals get better.

One narrative that was floated earlier in the offseason that didn’t bode well for New York was the Boston Red Sox reportedly considering a move to second base for Xander Bogaerts to open up the shortstop position to bring in Carlos Correa, who knows manager Alex Cora fairly well.

Nope. Can’t have it. In fact, will not have it. If it meant paying $400 million to Correa just so he wouldn’t sign with Boston, we’d endorse it.

Thankfully, the Yankees probably won’t have to do that, and it’s been reinforced by one of the most trusted MLB insiders out there.

Apparently, logic might prevail here. Because a Red Sox-Correa free agency union never really made sense. It was just nifty in theory.

And if Boston didn’t want to pay Mookie Betts $300-plus million … why would they push $350 million for Correa, who has far fewer accolades and a lengthy injury history?

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal delivered good news for Yankees fans on Friday.

It seems Ken Rosenthal has the same reservations about this potential scenario, per his latest piece in The Athletic (subscription required). Rosenthal notes the presence of general manager Chaim Bloom, who was previously a high-ranking executive with the Tampa Bay Rays, as an obstacle, since he’s yet to dish out a contract in excess of $19 million (Matt Barnes and Kiké Hernandez remain the highest two deals at $18.75 million and $14 million).

Rosenthal then stated the obvious with the Betts-Dodgers trade as a warning sign that passing on a franchise cornerstone of that magnitude and then chasing Correa, who strategically switched over to agent Scott Boras this offseason, doesn’t make much sense.

Then there’s Bogaerts, who has a full no-trade clause, and may not be willing to switch positions unless the Red Sox work on extending him beyond 2022 at a better price than the three years and $60 million he’ll be owed if he opts in after the season. Why would he devalue himself heading into a potential contract year by moving from shortstop to second base? And why would he do it with a three-week shortened Spring Training ahead of him?

Additionally, since teams cannot contact players on the 40-man roster during the lockout, the Red Sox have had no time to talk this scenario out with Bogaerts or give him the requisite time to practice at a totally new position ahead of the season. With incomplete rosters, spring training delayed, and general uncertainty, conventional wisdom would suggest that makes such a domino effect roster move even more complicated.

The Red Sox, with $188 million committed to the 2022 payroll, are attempting to play Rays Ball and have shown no inclination of morphing into what Andrew Friedman made the Los Angeles Dodgers after he left Tampa. We’re content with believing Bloom will keep the Red Sox as a rich man’s Rays and a poor man’s Dodgers. And we hope it stays that way.

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