The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are currently two of the five teams remaining in the Juan Soto sweepstakes. However, no American League East prospect is widely favored to land the outfielder. Many believe the New York Mets will walk away with a $700 million superstar.

If that happens, these two rival AL East teams will face a bidding war for the next tier of free agents. Max Fried and Corbin Burnes are two pitchers with ties to both the Red Sox and Yankees.

Most recently, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. reported that the Yankees and Red Sox were the top two teams involved in the Fried bidding war this winter.

Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 14: Max Fried #54 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the first inning against the New York Yankees at Truist Park on August 14, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Michael Zarrilli/Getty Images

“When Matthew Boyd gets a two-year, $29 million contract without missing more than 79 innings since 2019, when Luis Severino gets $67 million over three years, and Blake Snell averages $36.4 million a year, Burnes and Fried should win $200 million,” Nightengale wrote. “The San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are lurking. The only drama is whether Fried will go ahead and sign before Burnes, or let Burnes set the bar. Fried traded out of Atlanta but is expected to sign with the Yankees or Red Sox. If Soto goes to the Mets, Fried could find himself in a nice bidding war between the Red Sox and Yankees.

Both AL East teams have money to spend, especially if they miss Soto’s goal.

Once the Soto sweepstakes ends, teams that missed him will quickly move on to very expensive backup options like Fried and Burnes. I expect both starters to land with one of Soto’s five suitors (Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers).

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