8 Free Agents Red Sox Need to Target This Offseason

After missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season and fifth time in six seasons, the Boston Red Sox once again enter a pivotal offseason. With Red Sox fans still feeling the scars of last offseason's unfulfilled "full throttle" promise, rumors of an aggressive offseason from Craig Breslow and the front office have Sox fans cautiously optimistic.

Last month, Breslow hinted at a shift in the organizational philosophy towards a win-now mentality while appearing on Baseball Isn't Boring with Rob Bradford:

"I think we are preparing for that to be the case. We are preparing to be more decisive, more aggressive. To field a team that is capable of winning the division, making a deep playoff run… That was the tone that (team president) Sam (Kennedy) struck. That is the messaging I am getting throughout the organization, that it is time to deliver to our fans the teams they have come to expect."

- Red Sox CBO Craig Breslow

With a stacked farm system consisting of top prospects Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell, and Kyle Teel, the Red Sox also have the ability to flip some of their younger players for MLB-level talent. Boston's front office could be looking at a mix of trades and free agency to enhance their 2025 roster.

The lack of free agency spending has been a common (and fair) gripe among Red Sox Nation. MLB writer Travis Sawchik of The Score compiled a "scrooge index", which evaluated each owner based on the team's payroll and revenue. Per Sawchik's index, the Red Sox rank as the fifth-cheapest team in baseball. For the third-most valuable franchise in baseball, Boston's lack of spending (and subsequent playoff-less seasons), ownership needs to re-grasp the correlation between spending and winning.

If Breslow is being truthful about pursuing an aggressive offseason – and ownership agrees – then the front office will likely be turning their attention to a strong free agency class. As the Red Sox aim to break their playoff drought, here are eight free agents that Boston should target this offseason.

8. Sean Manaea

If the Red Sox are unable to land some of the bigger fish of 2025 free agency (Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Max Fried, Roki Sasaki) or are again reluctant to shell out significant cash in free agency, Manaea could be a fallback plan at a lower price.

Manaea, 32, opted out of his contract with the New York Mets on Nov. 2. Manaea's 2025 deal with the Mets would have paid him $13.5 million, so a bidder would expectedly have to exceed that value or term to land the southpaw.

Manaea – who once no-hit the Red Sox in 2018 as a member of the Oakland Athletics – has been listed as a fit for Boston. He recorded a 12-6 record in 32 starts for the Mets in 2024 – posting a 3.47 ERA with 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Much has been made of Manaea tweaking his mechanics (ironically emulating former Boston ace Chris Sale), and that could help explain how he posted the best regular season of his career at 32 years old. It will be interesting to see if teams buy into the idea that Manaea struck gold with the mechanics tweak or if they view his 2024 campaign as an aberration.

If the Red Sox aren't willing to pay top dollar, Manaea could be a tier two option to upgrade the rotation, similarly to the team's signing of Lucas Giolito last offseason. Notably, Boston's starting pitching is dependent on right-handed arms. If the front office wants to mix it up with a southpaw, Manaea could be in play.