Boston Red Sox

Red Sox have met with Corbin Burnes, Max Fried while exploring top-of-the-rotation pitching options

Pitcher Corbin Burnes is 30. Nick Wass/AP Photo

While the Red Sox and the rest of the baseball world await the outcome of the Juan Soto Sweepstakes, the team also remains active on other fronts – in particular, in its search for front-of-the-rotation pitching.

According to multiple major league sources, the Red Sox recently met with the top two remaining free agent starters, righthander Corbin Burnes and lefthander Max Fried. The meeting with Burnes occurred remotely. It’s not known whether the team met with Fried in person or remotely.

Burnes, a 30-year-old who won the NL Cy Young with the Brewers in 2021, was 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA and 23 percent strikeout rate for the Orioles last year, finishing fifth in American League Cy Young voting. He’s a workhorse who ranks third in the big leagues in innings pitched since 2022. Fried, also 30, went 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA and 23 percent strikeout rate in 29 starts for Atlanta last year. He did miss a few weeks in July due to an injured list stint for left forearm neuritis, but was strong down the stretch, with a 2.14 ERA, 36 strikeouts, and seven walks in 33 1/3 September innings.

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