MLB notes: Red Sox enter pivotal Winter Meetings with extensive to-do list

The Red Sox have had several months now to get their house in order.

Once it became clear that a third last place finish in four years was imminent, the club moved on from chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and handed the keys to Craig Breslow. Since then the newly-minted baseball boss has mostly worked behind the scenes, enmeshing himself in the organizations and formulating a plan for how to build the Red Sox back into a contender.

That changes this week, and in the coming days we should see Breslow finally begin executing his vision.

Over the next four days the baseball world will gather in Nashville for the annual Winter Meetings, which have historically served as the offseason’s biggest hotbed of activity. Deals will get done, trades will be made, and by next week baseball’s new landscape should come into focus.

The Red Sox are expected to be active, but beyond addressing their own needs there will be other events with industry-wide implications that will affect the club as well, chief among them the MLB Draft Lottery and the Rule 5 Draft.

So what should fans expect in the coming days? Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s Winter Meetings.