Mastrodonato: Max Scherzer to the Red Sox was a dream too far from reality

The Red Sox have an uncertain window, albeit a tight one.

Here’s what they know: Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez and Nathan Eovaldi will be in Boston at least one more season, Rafael Devers for two more seasons and Alex Cora and Chris Sale for three more.

Arguably the six most important figures in the organization right now, all six could be somewhere else after the 2024 season.

It doesn’t take a thinking man to look at the Red Sox’ books and conclude there’s a tight window of opportunity. Keeping Bogaerts and Devers are obvious priorities, but there’s another priority that can often get overlooked: going all-in before their two cornerstone players either leave or fade from their prime.

That’s why it has to be infuriating that the Red Sox have been neither connected to any of the best free agent position players, who will secure contracts that last nearly a decade, nor the best free agent starting pitchers, who needed just two- and three-year deals.

Monday’s news that arguably the best pitcher on the market, Max Scherzer, was going to the New York Mets on a three-year deal worth $130 million was one that Red Sox fans should be more than a little irritated with.

Sure, by making $43 million a year, Scherzer will set the record for highest annual average value of any contract in MLB history. It’s an insane amount of money for any one person, of any profession, to make in a single year. That part is hard to wrap your head around.

But for a roster that’s currently owed less than $190 million and hasn’t gone over the luxury tax threshold since 2019, for a team that’s worth $3.5 billion and growing and operates under an ownership group that just purchased the Pittsburgh Penguins, isn’t a deal like Scherzer’s perfectly sensible?

Forget about long-term commitments. If John Henry and Co. want to sell the team after three years, so be it. The only contract that’ll still be on the books after 2024 is that of Bogaerts, who will likely opt out after 2022 anyway. Under Chaim Bloom, the farm system is improving and prospects are being collected. The trend is toward youth and the future, but the product on the field screams of a short-term opportunity to be an elite team in baseball.

It has two top-tier starting pitchers in Sale and Eovaldi. It has three middle-of-the-order bats in Bogaerts, Devers and Martinez. It has a world-class manager.

All that’s missing is a top-tier free agent or two to tie this thing together.

Since Black Friday, the Mets have spent about $245 million on four free agents: Scherzer, Starling Marte, Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar.

The Blue Jays spent $110 million on Kevin Gausman.

Even the Rays, who signed Corey Kluber to a one-year deal worth $8 million with up to $13 million with incentives, have outspent the Red Sox, who have spent just $7 million on back-end starting pitcher Michael Wacha.

If the Sox are planning to shock the world and come out of hibernation to land Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Freddie Freeman, or Javier Baez, those players will surely command something close to decade-long contracts. The opportunity for short-term contracts on Scherzer and Justin Verlander, who went to the Astros on a deal that could be worth $50 million over two years, has now passed. So has the chance at pitcher Robbie Ray, who signed with Seattle Monday.

They are old in baseball years, no doubt about it. Scherzer is 37 and Verlander is 38. But in each of their last two full seasons, they’ve been elite starting pitchers. They’re playoff-tested. They’re veteran leaders and sure-fire Hall of Famers.

Why wouldn’t a big market team with a short-term window be racing to the bank to unload for one of those guys?

Maybe it’s just an example of a sports columnist getting greedy and wanting the local baseball team to spice up the offseason. Scherzer would’ve guaranteed the Sox had a successful winter, made things very interesting in spring training and given us plenty to write about and discuss for the duration of his time here.

And who knows? Maybe Scherzer wanted nothing to do with Boston and there was little the Red Sox could do about it.

But no matter the factors at play, it was disappointing to see another top-end free agent come off the board while the Red Sox kept their eyes on the clearance rack.

Scherzer was 15-4 with a 2.46 ERA. He led the league with an 0.86 WHIP and just six hits allowed per nine innings. He had a 2.16 ERA over four postseason appearances, though he was scratched from his final one due to fatigue after Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pushed him a little too hard.

There are always questions with aging pitchers. And it’s possible, if not likely, that at least one of the three seasons in New York will be a complete waste of $43 million. That’s just the way it goes. You overpay for free agents most of the time.

But the big market teams can afford to. They can whiff on half or more of their free agent signings and still be talented enough to contend.

The Red Sox appear insistent on doing it another way.