With Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler and the rehabbing Patrick Sandoval all added to the roster earlier this month, it’s no surprise that Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow feels like his rotation mix is set. The overall roster, however, is far from finished with about six weeks to go before spring training.
Speaking on a Zoom call after the signings of Buehler and Sandoval were made official, Breslow identified two areas — balancing the lineup with a right-handed bat and adding bullpen help — as his focus as the calendar turns to January.
“Given that most of the heavy lifting in the rotation is largely done, I think we’ll shift our focus to thinking about how to balance out the lineup,” Breslow said Monday. “We’ve talked about some right-handed bat helping to equalize the significant number of left-handed hitters that we have. And then also we’ll probably look to add in the bullpen as well.”
The lack of right-handed options was an issue for the 2024 Red Sox, who went just 17-26 against left-handed starters despite having home run leader Tyler O’Neill in the middle of the lineup all year. Now, with O’Neill having departed for the Orioles as a free agent, the need is even more acute. The current lineup is projected to include talented left-handed hitters Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers, Triston Casas, Wilyer Abreu, possibly Masataka Yoshida and eventually, Roman Anthony. There’s less certainty when it comes to righties with question marks surrounding players like Trevor Story, Connor Wong, Vaughn Grissom and Ceddanne Rafaela.
With that in mind, the Red Sox have entertained potential pursuits of multiple bats on both the free agent and trade markets. They never presented as a real threat to lure slugger Teoscar Hernández away from the Dodgers before he re-signed but have been linked to top free agent Alex Bregman and Cardinals trade candidate Nolan Arenado. Other options like Randal Grichuk (free agent), Seiya Suzuki (Cubs trade candidate) or switch-hitters Anthony Santander and Jurickson Profar could make sense, too. Breslow made it clear that the Sox are aiming high in that pursuit; the club does have about $26-27 million left to spend on its 2025 payroll before hitting the first competitive balance tax (CBT) threshold of $241 million and still may exceed it.
“In a perfect world. We’re getting elite-level production from a right-handed bat out of the middle of the lineup,” he said. “I think it stretches out the lineup. It balances out guys like Jarren and Raffy and Triston and Masa and others.
“I also think that production could come from a number of places. There are guys internally that may be able to take a step forward and we’re certainly also engaged in conversations for players that aren’t yet in the organization.”
Positionally, there are a few paths Breslow could take. Signing someone like Bregman to take over at second base, a position of need for years, would represent a clean fit despite top prospects Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer, along with Story and possibly Grissom and David Hamilton, all factoring into a crowded middle infield mix in the coming years. A designated hitter/outfield option like Grichuk could fit, especially if the team trades Yoshida and his inflated contract. Adding Arenado, a defensive standout, would likely mean shifting Rafael Devers off third base. Breslow threw cold water on that idea again Monday.
Still, he remains open-minded to ways to add the required right-side pop, even if he declined to directly address a potential Bregman pursuit. Manager Alex Cora, who grew close with Bregman as Houston’s bench coach in 2017, has been advocating for that union.
“I think there’s a number of paths that could take,” he said. “Obviously, infield, there are some opportunities. I think positional versatility will help us, the ability to play the outfield a bit. It’s hard to narrowly typecast. I think we’ll be open-minded. Ultimately, what we’re after is just an improvement to the roster. That could take a number of forms.
“Right-handed bats that we feel could play well at our park are certainly of interest to us,” Breslow said,” and we remain engaged on a number of fronts.”
In the bullpen, the Sox already added veteran lefties Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson to a group that will also include Liam Hendriks, Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock, optionable arms like Zack Kelly, Luis Guerrero, Brennan Bernardino, Greg Weissert and Zach Penrod, and potentially veteran Michael Fulmer. The top end of the free agent market remains largely untouched with Jeff Hoffman, Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, A.J. Minter and Chris Martin among the veterans who may fit the Red Sox. At this point, Breslow said, a competition for the ninth inning is likely come spring training.
One area in which the Red Sox do not seem to being aggressive is at catcher, where newly acquired backstop Carlos Narvaez, who has just six games of major league experience with the Yankees, seems likely to be the top backup option behind Connor Wong. The Red Sox also have defensive standout Seby Zavala in the organization and could look to add an available veteran like James McCann, Yasmani Grandal or Elias Díaz.
“He’s a guy that we’re really excited about,” Breslow said about Narvaez. “What we saw out of him in winter ball I think only enhances or reinforces that we think he’s a great complement to Connor. That doesn’t mean that we’ll stop looking but I think we brought Narvy in because of what he brings offensively but also more specifically in terms of pitch framing and receiving. We really good about that.”
- BETTING: Check out our MA sports betting guide, where you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read odds for those interested in learning how to bet in Massachusetts.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
