The Red Sox, at least on paper, accomplished one of their offseason goals with flying colors.
Boston needed to improve its starting pitching, and Craig Breslow did so in a layered fashion. The Red Sox traded for a legitimate ace in Garrett Crochet, added a proven stud in Walker Buehler and acquired high-upside depth in Patrick Sandoval.
So, what’s next for Boston now that it’s made significant strides with its starters? Breslow shared his updated offseason to-do list when he met with the media virtually Monday afternoon.
“Given that most of the heavy lifting in the rotation is largely done, I think we’ll shift our focus to thinking about how we can balance out the lineup,” Breslow told reporters. “We’ve talked about a right-handed bat coming to equalize the significant number of left-handers that we have. Also, we’ll probably look to add to the bullpen.”
It’s unclear which right-handed bat is commanding the most attention from the Red Sox at this stage in the offseason. Teoscar Hernández no longer is an option for Boston, but game-changers like Alex Bregman and Anthony Santander still reside on the open market.
But even if the Red Sox don’t add an All-Star-caliber player to their lineup, the club is in a much better spot thanks to a much-improved rotation.
