The end of February is now le s than a week away and Spring Training games have begun, yet plenty of significant free agents remain unsigned. As long as they linger on the open market, they will continue to be the subject of discu sion. Thats particularly true of the Boras Four, which is formed by , , and , all of whom are represented by the Boras Corporation. The Red Sox have been loosely tied to Montgomery throughout the offseason and that connection was addre sed this morning by both and . Bradford reports that the club appears to prefer Montgomery to other available free agents but it is still waiting for the price to come down. McAdam frames it similarly, noting that the Buck Williams Jersey club has stayed in contact with Scott Boras as a matter of course. McAdam also suggests the Sox could fit Montgomery into their budget if his asking price drops, but he also points out that several other clubs would jump into the fray at that point. At any rate, it seems to be a moot point for now since McAdam relays that the asking price has not dropped. The fit between the two sides is a sensible one in some ways. Montgomerys wife is doing a residency at a Boston hospital and there would surely be some appeal to the convenience of working in the same city for much of the year. But beyond that, the club has been searching for starting pitching all winter and hasnt really found it. They did sign but also traded away , leaving them roughly where they started. One might argue that Giolito is an upgrade on Sale but that substitution doesnt addre s the overall depth. The Red Sox have also been quieter than some other traditional big spenders. While clubs like the Yankees and Dodgers are well beyond the fourth and final luxury tax tier, the Sox arent even above the lowest threshold of $237MM. Bostons competitive balance tax figure is at $202MM, per , which gives them plenty of room to theoretically make a big splash and still avoid the tax. Some other clubs like the Padres, Rangers, Mariners and Twins seem to be operating with diminished spending capacity this winter due to uncertainty in their TV revenue situations. All that could perhaps put the Red Sox in a position to strike, but there are also reasons to suspect it wont happen. The clubs president Sam Kennedy was recently present as Spring Training facilities and spoke to the media, with relaying some video. We have set parameters for him, Kennedy said in response to a question about whether chief baseball officer has a hard budget. Hes operating under those parameters. He declined to elaborate with specifics. All teams have budgets but there can sometimes be a point where opportunities push a club to alter their plans. Both the club and Boras appear to be holding their positions for now and time will tell whether one side blinks or if the staredown leads to Montgomery signing elsewhere. Its po sible something will happen to get things moving, but the Sox might proceed into the season with their current rotation mix. Last month, Breslow the rotation consists of Giolito, , and . That would leave , and as options for the final spot. Giolito has plenty of succe s in his career but his earned run average has finished just below 5.00 in each of the past two seasons. Bello and Crawford each have just over 200 major league innings under their belts. Pivettas 2023 finished strong but he was bumped to the bullpen for a time due to some shaky results. The latter three worked both as starters and relievers in their careers and are still trying to establish themselves as legitimate rotation options. Theres plenty of uncertainty in that mix and an addition would make sense if the Sox are willing to add some money to the payroll. In addition to Snell and Montgomery, the free agent market still features , , , and others. In addition to the Sox, Montgomery has received reported interest from clubs like the Angels and Giants, with other clubs making logical sense. him for a six-year, $150MM deal coming into the winter but his continued stay in free agency suggests that he hasnt had offers in that vicinity and the chances of him getting there will likely drop as time goes on. Tyler Johnson Jersey