Craig Breslow mapped out a few of Boston’s offseason objectives on the first day of MLB’s Winter Meetings on Monday.
At the top of the list? Adding more power to their lineup.
“At the end of the day, we’re trying to score as many runs as possible,” Breslow said to The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham on Monday. “There are a few different paths to doing that. I think that the true middle-of-the-order bat that can hit the ball out of the park — it has probably outsized impact on the rest of the lineup because of the way you have to attack someone [and] the on-base implications it can have.
“And so, again, we’re going to consider all ways of improving the team, but finding someone in the middle of the order [who] hits the ball out of the park is a really good place to start.”
The Red Sox need to add another established hitter to a lineup currently propped up by the likes of Roman Anthony, Trevor Story, Wilyer Abreu, and others.
But, could a Red Sox team staring at a renewed contention window look to add two impact bats this winter in hopes of putting its roster over the top?
Longtime MLB insider and New York Post staff writer Jon Heyman said Tuesday that he expects Boston to target more than just one proven slugger this offseason.
“[The] teams making [the] most moves — I’m going to say Red Sox,” Heyman said on Bleacher Report from the Winter Meetings. “We’ve talked about them. I mean, they’re going to end up with either [Alex] Bregman, [Bo] Bichette or [Ketel] Marte — and plus they might get [Pete] Alonso.
“They’ve talked about [Kazuma] Okamoto, they’ve talked about [Jorge] Polanco. I think they’re going to get two bats. They need the two bats. And if they do get those bats, they’re ready to go. I think they’re a big-time contender.”
Abraham noted on Bluesky that retaining Bregman stands as the “priority” for Boston this offseason.
But, Boston has plenty of contingency plans in place if the veteran third baseman signs elsewhere in the coming weeks and months.
While Boston would have to dole out a hefty contract in free agency to bring in a slugger like Bichette, Alonso, or Bregman, the team could land a top talent on the open market and add another bat by way of a trade — such as Marte.
The 32-year-old Marte is arguably the best second baseman in baseball, and would give Boston another potent bat in the heart of their lineup — all on a fair contract that owes him $102.5 million over the next six seasons.
Prying Marte out of Arizona won’t be easy, with Boston needing to part with both prospects and proven big-league talent to entice the Diamondbacks to move on from the three-time All-Star.
But, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi noted on X Thursday that the Red Sox are “viewed as stronger candidates to land Ketel Marte than their AL East rival Blue Jays” — due to Boston’s glut of MLB-ready pitching.
Beyond a pair of blue-chip prospects in Payton Tolle and Connelly Early, the Red Sox could also move other proven starters on their roster like Kutter Crawford, Johan Oviedo, and possibly even Brayan Bello.