ORLANDO -- The Red Sox entered this year's Winter Meetings with momentum, having acquired two starting pitchers via trade: Sonny Gray from the Cardinals and Johan Oviedo in a deal with the Pirates.
That left chief baseball officer Craig Breslow in the position of being able to narrow his focus on the slugger to bat in the middle of the order.
While the two biggest home run hitters on the free agent market found homes -- Kyle Schwarber returning to the Phillies and Pete Alonso signing with the Orioles -- the Red Sox left Orlando empty-handed.
That should only increase Breslow’s urgency in the coming days.
“Sure, we came in looking to address some specific needs that I've talked about,” said Breslow. “As we get ready to leave here, those needs still exist, so we've got to figure out a way to fill them.”
BIGGEST REMAINING NEEDS
1. A big bat or two. Boston’s offense needs to add some pop to vault the club from postseason contender to World Series contender. All eyes will be on Breslow’s continued quest to fill this need. Re-signing Alex Bregman would be a nice start. Snagging 27-year-old Bo Bichette would certainly be a move that could erase the sting of losing out on Alonso.
2. A premium starting pitcher. Just because Breslow already added a couple of starters doesn’t mean he won’t try to add another one. There are many proven pitchers available both on free agency or trade. If Breslow adds another starter, it would likely be a No. 2 starter or even a co-ace.
3. More bullpen depth. Closer Aroldis Chapman and setup man Garrett Whitlock represent a great start to any bullpen. But Breslow would like to give manager Alex Cora some more high-leverage arms for the late innings.
HE SAID IT
“We'll see how it goes. He's in a great place. Talked to him on Friday. We had dinner, and he opened up about the season, which was really, really good. The ups and downs, the expectations, the contract, Triple-A, the big leagues, the adjustments.” -- Cora on Kristian Campbell’s quest to bounce back from a tough rookie season.
RULE 5 DRAFT
The Red Sox passed on their pick in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft, but made a trade for Ryan Watson, the righty the Athletics selected with the sixth overall pick. Boston sent infield prospect Justin Riemer to Oakland to complete the trade.
“Ryan Watson is a guy that we've liked for a long time,” said Breslow. “Actually tried to acquire him a couple times during the course of the season. Believe [in the] deep mix. Big guy with good extension and good strike-throwing ability that should translate to success in the big leagues. He can provide probably some bulk relief and potentially even match up.”
Boston also lost a player in the Major League phase, as the White Sox snagged righty Jedixon Paez, who was ranked 19th by MLB Pipeline in the Red Sox’s farm system.
“Any time you lose a player, especially in the Major League phase, you think about, what does this mean in terms of … did you make the right decisions with whom you protect?” said Breslow. “But also, I think it speaks to maybe the depth that we've built up, particularly on the pitching side, over the last few years that there are guys that we weren't able to protect who were desirable to others. And Paez certainly fits that bill as a guy that throws a ton of strikes, and has had good results.”
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GM’S BOTTOM LINE
“We came in committed to doing what we can to improve our roster. The timing didn't work out as such that we were able to do that during these three days here in Orlando, but we're going to head back to Boston and continue to work at putting the best team on the field that we can in 2026. We had a taste of success, and we saw the way the fans supported the team and came out and made Fenway the electric environment that it was and we’re committed to doing everything we can to take another step forward in '26.” -- Breslow