The Boston Red Sox made a splash move earlier in the offseason, acquiring left-handed starting pitcher Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox for a package of four prospects. They also added a few free agents who could play significant roles in 2025, including Walker Buehler, Patrick Sandoval, Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson.
However, overall, Boston’s offseason still feels a bit disappointing, especially after the team’s comments about their efforts right after the season that had many feeling like they were about to spend a ton of money to acquire top-end talent to address their needs.
With that, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow gets where fans are coming from if they disagree with the team’s decision-making and path over the last few months.
“I understand the criticism. But at the same time, my job is to put the most competitive team on the field that I possibly can,” Breslow said (via. MassLive). “I think that we are taking the meaningful steps toward doing that. Some come at the cost of dollars. Some come at the cost of really talented young players that we needed to trade away. Ultimately, I think the barometer for our success is going to be where we finish in the standings. That is absolutely the way that it should be.
“Whether or not there’s an appetite or the resources are available for the right player, the answer is yes. I have to balance the kind of urgency and immediacy that Sam (Kennedy) spoke about with the responsibility to build a competitive team that’s capable of accomplishing what we’d like to accomplish in 2025, but also beyond.”
Red Sox fans could also be frustrated with the lack of recent news, as the team has made just two 40-man roster moves since Christmas Day – trading for catcher Blake Sabol from the San Francisco Giants and parting with pitcher Chase Shugart in a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“We don’t have control over the timing of the offseason and if that Crochet trade had come together two weeks ago, then there could be a different feeling right now,” Breslow said. “But I would absolutely balance that with frustration for there being players that we’ve pursued or conversations in trades that we felt like were getting some momentum but ultimately didn’t work out. Unfortunately, that’s the reality of an offseason.”
Those conversations that he’s mentioning could be referencing trades with the Seattle Mariners for one of their starting pitchers, a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals for Nolan Arenado or signing third baseman Alex Bregman.
Luckily for Breslow, none of those situations have really changed. Seattle still has their pitchers, the Cardinals are still trying to part with Arenado and Bregman is still on the market. If he truly wants them, they can still get a deal done.
Craig Breslow says Red Sox are still searching for a ‘difference-maker’ bat, relief arm
Boston’s chief baseball officer also commented on criticism regarding the team’s lack of spending this offseason.
Red Sox pitchers and catchers report to spring training at Boston’s Fort Myers facility in less than one week.
Despite that, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow insinuated that the current roster may not be in its final form entering the 2025 season.
Appearing on the latest installment of MassLive’s “Fenway Rundown” podcast with Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam, Breslow said that the organization could add more players.
“We’re still very much engaged in trying to bring in a right-handed hitter, obviously one that we think can be a difference-maker,” Breslow said. “We haven’t been able to line up yet, but the offseason is still underway.”
Given Boston’s prolonged reported interest in signing free agent third baseman Alex Bregman this offseason, it’s hard not to wonder if he’s the “difference-maker” Breslow is referring to.
The 30-year-old Bregman (who turns 31 on March 30) remains the top free agent on the market. Seeing as he’s a two-time World Series champion, owns a career .272 batting average, and is on the verge of reaching 200 home runs since entering MLB in 2016, it would make sense if the Red Sox continue to check in with the player’s camp.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal said during his Friday appearance on “Foul Territory” that Bregman would resolve Boston’s need for a righty bat. However, the MLB insider said that perhaps the only reason Bregman isn’t a Red Sox is because of money.
“The Red Sox — they need a right-handed bat, they’ve needed a right-handed bat since last year, and I do not know and I cannot figure out other than financial restrictions why they have not been more aggressive on that front,” Rosenthal said.
Breslow was asked about his pursuit of Bregman and fellow 3B Nolan Arenado, currently of the St. Louis Cardinals, who will seemingly be traded. The executive didn’t get into specifics regarding possible discussions about landing either player, but he didn’t seem to deny ongoing interest, either.
“We’re open-minded,” Breslow said. “We’ve talked about versatility, we’ve talked about opportunities to improve infield defense. We do feel like we have a very strong outfield defense but I think we’ll be open-minded.”
He also added that Boston is open to adding another relief pitcher.
“We’re still actively engaged in conversations around enhancing the bullpen,” Breslow said. “… If the opportunity exists to bring in someone who enhances that back end, particularly someone who can provide leverage innings, we’re definitely going to be open to that pursuit.”
Since Breslow confirmed that he and the rest of the Red Sox’ brass are still open to adding to their Opening Day roster, he admitted that he understands if fans think the team needs improvement.
“I think it’s fair to say that in some respects, maybe the roster is a bit incomplete. But we’re going to continue to work really hard to try to round it out,” Breslow said. “The focus has continued to be on building a roster that can compete for the division and for the postseason in 2025, and make sure that we’re balancing that with a look toward the longer term.”
During Boston’s end-of-season press conference at the end of September last year, Breslow alongside manager Alex Cora and president Sam Kennedy said that he wanted to add a right-handed hitter, improve the team’s infield defense, and upgrade the entire pitching staff. While the club has added no shortage of both starting pitchers and relievers, they have yet to add any major league position players.
As the roster currently stands, the infield defense is the same as it was in 2024. On top of that, they have yet to replace Tyler O’Neill (who signed a three-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles in December), a right-handed bat who hit a team-high 31 home runs for the Red Sox last season.
By adding arms like Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, Aroldis Chapman, and seeing a healthy Liam Hendriks at long last, the team undeniably improved its pitching arsenal, which was a weakness last season.
But without any improvement to its lineup, it’s hard to envision Boston being a significantly better team in 2025 compared to 2024. Perhaps the team is banking on Kristian Campbell, the No. 7 prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com, cracking the Opening Day lineup. Maybe they envision Roman Anthony, the league’s No. 2 prospect, claiming a spot.
If that were true, it could put immense pressure on the 22-year-old Campbell and 20-year-old Anthony to succeed in the bigs and be the Red Sox’ offensive saviors immediately.
Because of Boston’s recent hesitancy to ink position players to large contracts, fans have criticized the organization for a lack of spending, especially this offseason.
Breslow hears them and says that he gets it.
“I understand the criticism. But at the same time, my job is to put the most competitive team on the field that I possibly can,” he said. “I think that we are taking the meaningful steps toward doing that. Some come at the cost of dollars. Some come at the cost of really talented young players that we needed to trade away.
“Ultimately, I think the barometer for our success is going to be where we finish in the standings. That is absolutely the way that it should be. Whether or not there’s an appetite or the resources are available for the right player, the answer is yes. I have to balance the kind of urgency and immediacy that Sam (Kennedy) spoke about with the responsibility to build a competitive team that’s capable of accomplishing what we’d like to accomplish in 2025, but also beyond.”
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