No, the offseason is not over, and yes, the Boston Red Sox are a good team, a good team that needs improving. After losing to the rival New York Yankees in the postseason, everyone in baseball, from the ground crew to the fervent fan base and, more importantly, the front office, knew exactly what those needs were. The annual MLB Winter Meetings are over, and Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow and his staff are still looking to fill those needs.
Despite not leaving Orlando with either Kyle Schwarber, who returned to the Philadelphia Phillies, or Pete Alonso, who signed with division rival the Baltimore Orioles on the final day of the meetings, there are still plenty of pathways to an improved offense for the Red Sox. Infielder Bo Bichette and incumbent third basemen Alex Bregman are still available, as are Japanese products Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto. On the trade front, names like Arizona’s Ketel Marte, the Astros’ Isaac Paredes, and Brendan Donovan of the Angels are names that have surfaced.
In terms of player acquisition, the biggest issue for the Red Sox isn’t finding players who want to play in Boston. Bregman, Aroldis Chapman last year, and Sonny Gray so far this winter prove that point. The biggest issue is their messaging to the fans and other teams as a part of negotiations that gets the organization painted into a corner and the blood of the fanbase boiling.
Red Sox Have Failed to Go "Full Throttle" as Promised
The messaging issues began after the 2023 season, when Chairman Tom Werner now infamously said the team would go “full throttle” to build a contender. Those words invigorated the fanbase, but that invigoration quickly turned to ire after signing Lucas Giolito and trading Chris Sale for Vaughn Grissom.
It took Werner two months to clarify what he meant by “full throttle.” Whether that was the truth or a backpedal, the toothpaste wasn’t going back in the tube.
Last season, for Breslow and company, it was about “getting uncomfortable” to improve the team. On the trade front, they did that by acquiring Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox for a four-player package. They got even more uncomfortable by signing Bregman to a three-year deal with opt-outs and signing Crochet to a big extension. At the trade deadline, with the team in a playoff position, Breslow failed to bring in the type of impact players he had hoped; he said it wasn’t from an “unwillingness to get uncomfortable.”
After trading Rafael Devers, the need for a big bopper in the middle of the lineup was obvious, and the team was, and still is, in a great position. The Red Sox have a strong farm system with more starting pitching prospects than the system has seen in decades, as well as four starting-caliber outfielders, allowing them to deal from a position of strength and money to spend in free agency. Everyone around baseball knew that Schwarber (who had a cup of coffee with Boston in 2021) and Alonso fit almost exactly what the team is looking for.
In the middle of the Winter Meetings, Breslow did it again, saying on Tuesday night that there were going to be “decisive and aggressive.” But with both Schwarber and Alonso off the board and news coming out that they didn’t make an offer to Schwarber and were wary of Alonso because of his age, according to Boston Globe's Tim Healey, it seems decisive and aggressive were more empty words from the head of the Interest Kings (a moniker that has been well earned) yet again.
Even if they have the pieces to compete next year, the Red Sox can't keep driving the fan base around in circles. Eventually, Breslow & Co. need to put their money where their mouth is before their message starts falling on deaf ears.