Trevor Bauer's free agency is going to be a trip. First stop: Boston.
That was at least the facetious message Bauer passed along via Twitter on Sunday night when he posted a plane ticket to the Hub of the Universe with a simple message.
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SIGN UP HERE While Bauer is not allowed to speak to other teams until the official start of free agency, five days after the completion of the World Series, there's nothing stopping him from having a little fun.
The Reds right-hander and National League Cy Young Award candidate is already on the record that he'd like to sign a series of one-year deals to maximize his annual value. Teams that don't want to commit $200 million to a pitcher who turns 30 in January could be more willing to sign him for a year, although the short term would work against him from the perspective of draft pick compensation, since he's certain to be tendered a qualifying offer.
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But that's getting a little deep in the weeds for a marriage that's not going to happen. The Red Sox aren't ready to contend, they're not interested in giving away the fourth pick in the second round for a rental, and they've been burned by enough big-money pitching contracts in recent years (David Price, Nathan Eovaldi, Chris Sale) to sit this one out.
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That said, Bauer might be the most talented arm on the market. He went 5-4 with a 1.73 ERA and league-leading two shutouts this year. He then tossed 7.2 shutout innings with 12 strikeouts in his only playoff start, a 1-0 loss to the Braves.
