Potential Red Sox Pitching Target Shares Free Agency Preference

The Red Sox will have an opportunity to pursue a newly crowned World Series champion, but it might be tough for the club to sway him to Boston.

Jack Flaherty will be one of the best starting pitchers available in Major League Baseball free agency this winter, and he certainly could check a box for a Red Sox team that needs to beef up its rotation. But if the right-hander gets his way, he won’t leave Los Angeles.

“I love this city. I never want to leave,” Flaherty told SportsNet LA during the Dodgers’ championship parade Friday.

Comments made amid such joyous occasions usually should be taken with a grain of salt, but that might not have been booze and the thrill of victory speaking on behalf of Flaherty. The 29-year-old was born and raised in Los Angeles and re-upping with the Dodgers would give him the opportunity to compete for titles for years to come.

That said, LA can’t pay everybody and shelling out an expensive long-term contract to a pitcher who has never been an All-Star and has a bit of an injury history might not be in the organization’s plans. But even if Flaherty does find a way to stay in Chavez Ravine, Boston will have other appealing starters to take a look at on the open market.