The Red Sox face a critical offseason, and they seem to be ready to attempt blockbuster moves.
MassLive’s Sean McAdam and The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier each reported this week that the Red Sox will be a major player in the trade market. The tea leaves hinted that Garrett Crochet will be one of Boston’s main priorities.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow expressed confidence in the Red Sox’s current rotation at the general manager meetings this month. However, he’s also acknowledged that a team can never have enough starters and that pitching will be a strong focus of the offseason.
Boston has the prospect pool to entice other teams outside of the “Big Four.” McAdam highlighted two teams that have the targets the Red Sox desire: the Miami Marlins and Seattle Mariners.
Seattle arguably commands the best rotation in baseball. However, the addition of Randy Arozarena before the trade deadline wasn’t enough to boost the offense, and the Mariners missed the playoffs. McAdam noted that executive Jerry Dipoto stated the club wasn’t planning on trading one of their starters, but the industry is skeptical.
The Mariners could trade one of Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo and still have an incredible rotation. Who they would be willing to part with would be the biggest question. Miller and Woo haven’t entered arbitration yet. Kirby and Gilbert each have at least two arbitration years after 2025. And Castillo becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2029.
If the Seattle isn’t open for business, the Marlins might be. They need to solidify a manager and improve a roster that lost 100 games in the 2024 season. Like the Mariners, Miami has solid rotation pieces. But you have a lot of problems if Jake Burger is your best bat. McAdam reported that the Red Sox haven’t had discussions with the Marlins early in the offseason. However, they could come calling for Jesús Luzardo, Eduard Cabrera and Sandy Alcántara.
Breslow and his staff have a lot of options to choose from, and it will be a wait-and-see on what the Red Sox choose to do this offseason.
