Red Sox News & Links: A Look Free Agent Betting Odds

Did you know you can bet on what team a free agent will sign with? I did not, and it’s interesting that, between players, team personnel, agents, and friends and family, there are a whole lot of people out there who can make some easy money thanks to having access to inside info. Regardless, here’s a look at where Vegas pegs the Sox for a number of notable free agents. They aren’t the top favorites to sign any particular player, but they’re amongst the favorites for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jordan Montgomery, and Aaron Nola. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)

The Sox only have the seventh-best odds to sign Shohei Ohtani, but we’ve been hearing vague insinuations about the team being in contention for the greatest player of all time for months now. As it turns out, this isn’t the first — or even the second — time that Ohtani could’ve signed with the Sox. Way back when he was still a high schooler, Red Sox brass met with Ohtani in an attempt to convince to skip Japanese pro ball and come right to North America. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)

The Red Sox were shut out of the major awards (unless you count Rafael Devers Silver Slugger as “major”, which, sure, maybe. . . ) but they did get a Cy Young vote! Someone actually had reliever Chris Martin as high as fifth on their ballot, meaning he officially came in twelfth place in the AL Cy Young race. (Tim Crowley, NESN)

With news that Major League Baseball has approved the move of the Oakland A’s to Las Vegas, we’re reminded of when another New England city lost a team, though on a smaller scale. Many people who live in or grew up in southeastern New England are probably still mourning the loss of the Paw Sox. With McCoy Stadium facing the wrecking ball, there’s a new book out celebrating the famous murals that lined the McCoy ramps. (Edward Fitzpatrick, Boston Globe)