Red Sox officially eliminated from the postseason; how will Craig Breslow look to improve the team in offseason
The Red Sox were officially eliminated from playoff contention following a 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays on Wednesday night. Boston dropped to 80-79 and will play their final three games of the season this weekend at Fenway Park against the Rays.
The Red Sox stayed in the playoff hunt longer than fans anticipated heading into 2024. They had their chances all summer, but a second half-skid resulted in missing the postseason for the third straight season.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow will embark on his second offseason as the club’s front office leader. With the Sox playing this season, they aren’t far from being a playoff contender. The Red Sox will need to make some improvements, particularly exploring adding an ace to the staff and more right-handed power to the lineup.
Breslow joined WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Thursday morning and shed some light on his offseason approach.
"I think we need to figure out how to balance out our lineup," Breslow said. "Obviously, it's left-handed heavy, and a number of our young players who will be impacting the big league club shortly are also left-handed. I think we need to figure out how we balance that out to not leave ourselves so susceptible to left-handed pitching. We can never have enough starting pitching. We can never have enough quality starting pitching, so I think looking at starting pitching is the other area of focus for us."
Breslow's remarks have been echoed by the media during the regular season. Breslow opted to add catcher Danny Jansen as their right-handed hitting option prior to the deadline. While he was an upgrade over backup catcher Reese McGuire, he provided little pop to the Sox lineup.
Jansen has hit just .195 with three homers and six RBI, but he struck out 19 times in 77 at-bats while posting a .645 OPS with Boston.
Tyler O’Neill could come back, and the Red Sox have interest in re-signing the slugger. His hot and cold tendencies at the plate are a cause for concern, but if the Red Sox add another right-handed slugger, it will take less pressure off O’Neill.
Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez will be a free agent again this winter, and the Sox showed interest. Hernandez has been open about possibly playing for the Red Sox; admittedly there’s a fit, but the Sox wouldn’t budge off of offering him two years and $28 million last winter. He’ll command a bigger payday after hitting .269 with 31 homers and 94 RBI in the middle of the Dodgers potent lineup.
The idea of signing Alex Bregman to play third and shifting Rafael Devers to DH is an intriguing idea. Unlike O'Neill and Hernandez, Bregman is not a strikeout machine and would slot in nicely between Devers and Triston Casas.
Breslow was noncommittal when he was asked about adding a front-of-the-rotation arm.
The Red Sox will be getting Lucas Giolito and Garrett Whitlock back in 2025. Giolito missed the entire season with UCL surgery but should be ready for spring training. Boston will hope he can compete for a spot in the rotation during the spring or shortly thereafter. Whitlock might be better served pitching out of the bullpen to persevere his bullets in his arm. The righty has had more success in the bullpen than as a starter over the course of his young career.
“I think every team needs someone to front the rotation. I think the question is, 'What does that look like? Where does the availability come from? Do we have guys that can take another meaningful step forward and pitch at the front of the rotation?'” Breslow said. “There were stretches this season where any number of guys pitched like a legitimate front-of-the-rotation starter.”
Boston swung and missed on Seth Lugo, Jack Flaherty, and Shota Imanaga; all three had impressive seasons. The positive out of losing out on all three—the Sox were in on the right arms to add to the roster. Flaherty will be available again this winter; another Dodger teammate to keep an eye out on is righty Walker Buehler.
“Were we on the right guys? And I think the answer is yes, which I think bodes well for our ability to identify the right guys again,” said Breslow. “The other side of that is, ‘But they aren’t on the Boston Red Sox right now.’ And I think there are lessons learned there as well.”
With Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen as impending free agents, the Sox will need to address adding high-leverage arms in the winter. Of the two, the Sox should bring back Martin and let Jansen hook on with a win-now team, like the Dodgers. Liam Hendriks is a ninth-inning option for 2025, as is Justin Slaten.
Breslow believes his team’s young core can compete, and they showed that in 2024, especially within the American League East. The Orioles have a tremendous offensive core of young talent that needs starting pitching; the Yankees will need to address outfielder Juan Soto and their pitching staff while Boston has their warts on the roster.
Kristian Campbell, Vaughn Grissom, and Chase Meidroth are internal right-handed options for the lineup. Of the three, Campbell offers more power potential, Grissom is a wild card based off his lost 2024 season, and Meidroth is an on-base machine.
"We have seen the ability to be competitive in the AL East with a young group that's really exciting, really dynamic," Breslow told reporters Wednesday at Rogers Centre. "We've got to figure out what the right pieces are to add to that. I think it's likely some of that comes via trade, because there's only so many middle infielders and left-handed hitting outfielders we can play at any given time."
The off-season officially begins five days after the World Series. Breslow and his team have more time to prepare for this winter, which will be incredibly crucial heading into 2025.
