A couple of AL East teams in the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles, have started to keep tabs on some big-name free agents, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
Boston is reportedly looking for more power in the middle of their lineup, as Heyman has them linked to first baseman Pete Alonso and Japanese star Kazuma Okamoto.
If Boston is looking for power, Alonso is the man for the job, as he has mashed at least 34 home runs in each full season of his career (excluding the shortened 2020 campaign).
The soon-to-be 31-year-old hit 38 homers last season to go along with 126 RBI and a .272 batting average, eventually opting out of his contract with the New York Mets earlier this month.
Okamoto has delivered solid power contributions in the NPB since 2018, registering 15 homers, 51 RBI, and a .322 batting average across 77 games with the Yomiuri Giants in 2025. The Giants posted him last week.
Heyman also reported that Baltimore is keeping tabs on a couple of starting pitchers in Framber Valdez and Tatsuya Imai.
Valdez has been with the Houston Astros since 2018, posting a 3.66 ERA and 1.24 WHIP across 31 starts last season.
Imai has been a member of the NPB’s Saitama Seibu Lions since 2017 and put together one of his best professional seasons in 2025 with a 1.92 ERA and 0.89 WHIP.
Heyman also mentioned Michael King and Zac Gallen as fallback options for the Orioles as well.
The 30-year-old King has been a member of the San Diego Padres for the past two seasons, recording a 3.10 ERA and 1.19 WHIP across 46 games, while the also 30-year-old Gallen has been with the Arizona Diamondbacks since 2019, logging a 4.83 ERA last season.
Baltimore sent pitcher Grayson Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for outfielder Taylor Ward earlier this month, further thinning a starting rotation that already had depth concerns. According to Heyman, some kind of addition seems like a decent possibility.