5 Biggest Red Sox Offseason Priorities That Must Be Addressed
By Tyler Maher
The 2023 MLB regular season mercifully ended on Sunday for the Boston Red Sox, who finished last in the AL East for the third time in four seasons. Now it’s time to get to work on the offseason, as the Red Sox have plenty to do this winter if they want to build a contending team for next year.
Fortunately Chaim Bloom isn’t in charge anymore, but his replacement has yet to be determined. Whoever takes over for him has their work cut out for them in order to Boston out of the basement in a competitive division.
With that in mind, here are the Red Sox’s five biggest priorities that need to be addressed this offseason.
5 Red Sox Offseason Priorities
1. Find a New GM
The top priority for Boston this offseason, obviously, is finding Bloom’s replacement. Once the team does that, then everything else for the offseason can fall into place.
The current frontrunner for the job is Phillies GM Sam Fuld, who is working under Bloom’s predecessor Dave Dombrowski in Philadelphia. As a former player with GM experience in a big market, Fuld looks like a perfect fit if the Red Sox can woo him away. He’s also young (41) and analytically-driven, which fits the mold for four of Boston’s past five GMs.
Other options like Kim Ng, James Click, Brian Cashman and Billy Beane have been floated around if Fuld stays with Philly. The Red Sox could also opt to hire someone internal like Eddie Romero or Raquel Ferreira, both of whom have been fixtures in the front office for years and are deeply intimate with the organization.
Several candidates like Theo Epstein and Alex Cora have already been ruled out, which narrows the search a bit. David Stearns is no longer an option, either, after joining the New York Mets.
If Boston does hire an external candidate, it should do so soon to give the new hire as much time as possible to get familiar with the club and begin planning for the offseason. The Red Sox have a lot on their plate this winter, so the sooner they replace Bloom the better.
The longer they wait, the harder the new person’s job becomes and the less time they have to accomplish the following items on this list.