Once again, the Red Sox remain in contention for a top free agent just long enough to get hopes up.

They’re one of four finalists to sign Shōta Imanaga, former MLB general manager turned insider Jim Bowden reported on Friday. The Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels, and San Francisco Giants are their competition. According to Bob Nightengale, the quartet of clubs are “seriously bidding for his services” before Imanaga’s 45-day posting window closes on Thursday, Jan. 11. There is little chance that he declines all offers and returns to the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

Over eight seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league, Imanaga owns a 3.18 ERA and 1.118 WHIP across 165 games. He’s averaged just over 125 innings and nearly 128 strikeouts per year, and excels at limiting hits and walks. In 2023, he led Japan’s Central League with 174 strikeouts; no other pitcher exceeded 145. He also took home gold in the 2019 World Baseball-Softball Classic Premier12 and the 2023 World Baseball Classic, in which he started the championship game against Team USA.

Imanaga’s struggle to limit home runs may give the Red Sox pause; he gave up 17 round-trippers last season, second-most in his league. The New York Yankees reportedly took themselves out of the running, concerned that the southpaw wouldn’t fare well in their hitter-friendly confines.

Even so, he’s projected to receive a much larger contract than Kodai Senga, whom the New York Mets signed for five years, $75 million last winter. Current projections have Imanaga getting over $100M, which also means a hefty posting fee for the BayStars.

As one of the biggest spenders of the aughts, the Red Sox used to be known for risk-taking, willing to lavish exorbitant contracts to build championship rosters. They signed Daisuke Matsuzaka to a six-year, $103.1M pact – including $51.1M posting fee to the Seibu Lions – in December 2006, and gave David Price a then-record seven-year, $217M deal in January 2015. In 2019, they extended Chris Sale to the tune of five years, $145M with a vesting option for a sixth season.

However, the vast majority of the richest contracts in franchise history were for sluggers: Manny Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Rafael Devers. The Red Sox often balk at spending big on pitching. And, despite ample short- and long-term financial flexibility and no luxury tax penalties this year, they’ve reportedly given themselves spending restrictions, going so far as to tell at least one free agent that they’d need to shed payroll in order to pursue them aggressively. It’s hard to see them dishing out over $100M plus a sizable posting fee to a 30-year-old pitcher with zero Major League experience, one insider said. Another source told the Herald that the starting pitcher is more likely to end up with one of the two west coast clubs than in Boston or Chicago.

The bullpen may have been one of Boston’s most effective facets in 2023, but an emerging, prevailing theme of this offseason is an inability to close. And while they can’t force a player to sign with them, cheapness is most definitely a choice.

In other news

The Mets agreed to a two-year, $28M contract with Red Sox nemesis Sean Manaea on Sunday. As a member of the Oakland A’s, the left-hander famously no-hit Boston on April 21, 2018, exactly one day before the 25th anniversary of the last time Boston had been no-hit, by Seattle’s Chris Bosio in 1993.

According to Nightengale, Marcus Stroman informed the Yankees that he was seriously interested in signing with them, but the club declined to make him an offer. They are, however, interested in Shane Bieber and Dylan Cease, two of the top arms on the trade block.

The Yankees also reached out to David Ross in regards to their bench coach vacancy, but the 2013 Red Sox World Series champion catcher would prefer to manage again. The Cubs replaced him with Craig Counsell earlier in the offseason, but are still required to pay him for the final year of his contract.