Can't really argue with the timing thing as typically, nearly all the big pieces are off the free agent board by Christmas. Usually it's the winter meetings that really break any logjams there might be. But that just hasn't been the case this winter. Just to emphasize how sluggish this market is moving, using MLB.com's top free agent lists from 2022 and 2023, I counted how many of the top 20 free agents were still left unsigned as of Christmas Day.A lot of the frustration is we are 6 weeks from Spring Training and haven’t done a damn thing. MLB free agency really sucks.
Last winter, 90% of the top 20 were signed by Christmas. The only two that remained unsigned were Carlos Correa and Nate Eovaldi. Eovaldi signed on December 28. Correa, of course, had all kinds of issues before finally closing the deal with the Twins on January 11, 2023.
Thus far this winter, only 30% of the top 20 has been signed, meaning 14 of the top 20 remain available. That's a huge difference. The only ones in the top 20 signed are Ohtani, Yamamoto, Nola, Gray, Rodriguez, and Lee.
So it's not really just that the Red Sox "haven't done a damn thing." Hardly anyone has done a damn thing. This winter has been the Dodgers, the Giants (Lee), the DBacks (ERod), the Cards (Gray + 2 other SPs), and a whole lot of nothing. It's frustrating but the important thing is that it's not too late. There's still plenty to come before spring training starts. It sucks to have to be patient, but what choice do we have?