So Soto going to the Mets is good news for the Crochet market. The Yankees will now be desperate to replace Soto’s lost production and will almost certainly get aggressive with Burnes & Fried. I personally think the latter ends up with the Yankees, while the former ends up with the Giants.
This would put the Red Sox is a pretty tough spot from both an impact player and SP perspective. Flaherty would be the last potential quality SP available, but even then his track record has been spotty and he’s not a true ace. The Red Sox finished five games out of the wild card last season. While the AL Central should regress some next year, there are other teams who missed out on the post-season who will likely be better as well. I think it’s clear they will need a much bigger SP addition than Flaherty to move the needle enough and Crochet can provide that type of impact.
Also, Soto to the Mets puts more pressure on the elite NL teams that aren’t named the Dodgers. The Phillies & Braves now have a rival with an improved chance of winning the division and who will serve as another potential obstacle alongside the Dodgers come October. There is going to be an arms race for impact and Crochet is one of the few aces available. While the Dodgers don’t really match, the Phillies have the pieces to get a deal done if they are motivated enough. Hopefully this Soto news creates that sense of urgency and we can get a couple of desperate teams to bid against each other.