1) The Red Sox have finished last in three of the last four seasons. The primary reason for the team’s weaknesss has been the pitching staff, namely the starting rotation.

As a result of that, fans went into this offseason dreaming of Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Jordan Montomery in the free agent market, or Dylan Cease on the trade market. Based on Breslow’s comments, none of those things seem close to happening.

Instead, the Sox appear slated to go with stopgap/questionable arms in the rotation. Giolito has a good resume but is coming off a down year and is a bounceback candidate. But can he do it? Houck and Whitlock have never proven they can sustain being an effective starter for a full 162 games.

Breslow and new pitching coach Andrew Bailey were brought in, in part, because of their ability to implement systems to help guys develop. Given that the Sox don’t appear willing to spend at the top of the market or trade for a frontline starter, that internal development is going to be key, because it’s basically all the team has at this point.