Two AL East heavyweights set for 'bidding war' with Blue Jays for two top-tier free agents

With the exception of the New York Yankees, the performance of the American League East was more than a little disappointing this past season. It was a division that had such high expectations before the regular season started. Instead, they were beaten to the punch by the mighty AL Central that sent a total of three clubs to the postseason.

We know all about the Blue Jays! The Tampa Bay Rays experienced an out-of-body season for their standards, the Boston Red Sox were lucky to post a .500 record and the Baltimore Orioles came way back down to Earth after a scorching hot start. Now, as the temperatures plunge in the middle of December, the Red Sox and Yankees are gathering around the hot stove and preparing to duel with the Blue Jays for star talent.

A noted baseball insider took a peek behind the curtain to preview this coming attraction. Starting pitcher Max Fried and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez are licking their chops at the oncoming frenzy heading their way. Both the native of California and the Dominican Republic have been linked to Canada's only baseball team.

"Fried priced himself out of Atlanta, but is expected to sign with the Yankees or Red Sox," Nightengale wrote in his Sunday column. "If Soto goes to the Mets, Fried could find himself in a nice bidding war between the Red Sox and Yankees."

With the benefit of hindsight, Soto signing with the Mets means that the aforementioned bidding war can commence. Fried, a bastion of pitching stability, posted a 3.25 ERA in 174.1 innings for Atlanta last season. The two-time All-Star Hernandez slashed .272 with 33 home runs and 99 RBIs for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season.

The Boston Red Sox have plenty of money and reasons to spend. According to RosterResource, the Red Sox have an estimated luxury tax payroll still around $60M shy of the first tax threshold. That is plenty of breathing room for a franchise that has unexpectedly been operating around the financial margins recently. Red Sox fans are getting restless after witnessing a mediocre pitching staff and not landing a slugger who they they wanted to sign last winter.

The same logic applies to the New York Yankees. The Yankees need to reinforce a roster that finished a couple of wins shy of a 28th championship. Hernandez would fill the Soto-sized hole in the outfield while Fried could provide stability to a rotation with some question marks.

MLB free agency has been crackling. The starting pitching market has been moving fast and clubs aren't waiting around for Soto to sign. The San Francisco Giants figured Willy Adames would give them his undivided attention and they clawed him off the board by handing him the largest contract in franchise history. While the big-spending Mets were distracted by the Soto bidding, one of the poorest teams in baseball signed Luis Severino to a rich contract only a few months removed from his rebound season in Queens.

Fried and Hernandez watch this frenzy and rightfully believe the demand for their services will skyrocket. When the supply falls and the demand remains the same or higher, expect the price(s) to go up. The Blue Jays are a desperate group and need to show they are doing something to compete in a loaded division. They probably have a headache just thinking about everything they need to accomplish and now a bidding war on top of all that? No thanks.

That is the conundrum Toronto faces. The good news is that a Soto-less Blue Jays squad should still be able to spread their dollars around on multiple free agents. That extra money will be needed in a bidding war.