The Red Sox have a brand new chief baseball officer, and as soon as the World Series wraps up Craig Breslow can have an opportunity to hit the bottom working. Now with the offseason set to formally kick off throughout the subsequent week or so, it’s pretty much as good a time as any to empty the mailbag and reply your questions.
Today we cowl the chaotic head of baseball operations search that led to Breslow’s hiring, Boston’s prime offseason priorities, potential commerce targets and extra.
Would the Red Sox have simply caught with Chaim Bloom in the event that they knew prematurely that they’d have such a tough time interviewing prime, skilled candidates? — Adam V.
My instinct is not any, however on some degree Red Sox possession should notice now how badly they’ve broken their very own standing throughout the wider baseball panorama.
Once upon a time being the Red Sox’ head baseball government would have been thought of a prime three job within the sport, one anyone would leap on the alternative to have. Red Sox possession clearly felt this fashion, with CEO Sam Kennedy dismissing issues about how candidates may view the franchise’s latest instability by saying “this is the Boston Red Sox” and that if anybody wasn’t on board with the problem of working in Boston, “thanks but no thanks.”
The truth so many excellent candidates, together with a number of with shut ties to Boston, stated “thanks by no thanks” themselves is an indictment of Red Sox possession and their remedy of prime executives this previous decade.
Fenway Sports Group goes to need to personal that and take a chilly, exhausting look within the mirror, however because it pertains to Bloom, in the event that they now not believed he was the fitting man for the job, then they have been proper to maneuver on and certain nonetheless really feel that approach. Breslow might prove incredible and in a few years hiring him might seem like a stroke of genius, however on some degree issues clearly didn’t play out just like the Red Sox envisioned.
The Sox have many holes to fill, in what order ought to they tackle the wants? Where do they begin? — Tom H.
Pitching. Specifically the beginning rotation. Over the previous two seasons the shortage of dependable beginning pitching has sunk the membership, and that should change going ahead. The Red Sox can’t hold relying on unreliable or unproven arms to hold the load, so earlier than they do anything they should exit and get some big-time arms.
Fortunately, this can be a nice 12 months to be available in the market for a beginning pitcher. There are no less than a dozen high quality starters obtainable on the free agent market, and that doesn’t embrace the attainable commerce candidates the Red Sox might attempt to purchase.
The greatest get could be 25-year-old Japanese famous person Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is anticipated to win his third straight Sawamura Award (Japan’s equal to the Cy Young) and boasts each wonderful stuff and terrific management. Other free agent targets embrace Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola, San Diego’s Blake Snell, Texas’ Jordan Montgomery or Minnesota’s Sonny Gray, and Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes, a former Cy Young winner, is believed to be a probable commerce candidate as a result of his looming free company subsequent offseason and deteriorating relationship with the membership.
MLB notes: The Red Sox want beginning pitching, and there shall be lots obtainable this offseason
The Red Sox probably want so as to add no less than two starters to actually shore up subsequent 12 months’s rotation, and as soon as they do this then they will be in a a lot better spot to handle their different holes. Shaking up the outfield, including bullpen depth and squaring away the designated hitter place ought to all be priorities, but when the Red Sox cannot pitch deep into video games then none of that can matter.
What’s the perfect case situation with our outfield on Opening Day? — Mike S.
The Red Sox outfield is in an enchanting place, to such a level that it is exhausting to even outline what a finest case situation may seem like. So as a substitute, let’s look at three approaches the membership might take: established order, youth motion or dramatic shakeup.
In a established order situation, the Red Sox outfield may look just like the way it did final 12 months, solely probably considerably extra streamlined. In this case the Red Sox may go along with Masataka Yoshida in left, Jarren Duran in middle and both Alex Verdugo or Adam Duvall in proper, with Verdugo both being traded and Duvall re-signed or Verdugo sticking round and Duvall allowed to go away in free company. This is a fairly good outfield, however perhaps not essentially the most fascinating to think about, so how else might issues go?
In a youth motion situation, the Red Sox might hand the keys to their prospects and transfer on from a few of the veterans. In this case, we might see Jarren Duran joined within the outfield by Wilyer Abreu and presumably additionally Ceddanne Rafaela, with Verdugo probably traded, Duvall allowed to go away and Yoshida presumably moved to full-time DH. This group might have an extremely excessive ceiling, however it could be very dangerous as nicely. With Rafaela probably needing a bit extra seasoning within the minors, this situation looks like essentially the most unlikely of the bunch.
How about if new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is feeling bold and desires to make critical waves? Well, a good way to try this could be by buying and selling for Juan Soto, one in all baseball’s brightest younger stars. That would remodel the lineup in a single day and instantly elevate the Red Sox outfield into one of many recreation’s finest. Breslow might additionally goal one other thrilling, much less apparent identify as a substitute, however in both case it is conceivable subsequent 12 months’s outfield might look radically totally different.
All three approaches have advantage, so it will likely be fascinating to see which approach Breslow goes.
MLB Notes: Trading for Juan Soto could be dangerous, however Red Sox ought to nonetheless do it
I need the Red Sox to be higher subsequent 12 months, however I do not need them to commerce A-level prospects to take action (Mayer, Anthony, Teel). I’d even be reluctant to half with Abreu, Rafaela or Duran. Do you foresee them parting with farm depth due to the comparatively weak free agent market? — Eliot B.
The good factor in regards to the Red Sox farm system is there’s sufficient depth to deal from with out essentially parting with any of the gamers you simply talked about. Boston is especially loaded with infield expertise, so if the Red Sox needed to make a commerce that will be the logical pool to attract from.
Some prospects who’d make sense to deal embrace former first-round decide Nick Yorke, Chase Meidroth and Blaze Jordan, all of whom are extremely regarded and would have worth in the marketplace however whose paths to the large leagues may very well be blocked. Whether it is a kind of three or another person in an analogous boat, the Red Sox might maximize their worth and bolster the MLB roster with out gutting the farm system as a complete.
Of course, if the Red Sox need to land a front-of-the-rotation starter with years of workforce management or an All-Star bat, they will probably want to incorporate one or two prime prospects as nicely. This is not one thing we ever noticed throughout Bloom’s tenure, however maybe Breslow will take a distinct method and begin dealing from the excess of expertise Bloom acquired.
Why isn’t the firing of Sam Kennedy ever mentioned? Hiring a brand new CEO who might then rent his personal baseball ops government who might then determine on Cora or a brand new subject supervisor. Just appears so logically orderly and crisp this fashion. — @GOPinBoston
The easy reply is as a result of the Red Sox entrance workplace is pleased with Kennedy’s job efficiency and has by no means given any cause for us to consider in any other case. Beyond that, the Red Sox additionally made Kennedy a accomplice in Fenway Sports Group again in March 2021, so Kennedy does not simply report back to the membership’s possession group, he is a part of it himself.
The different factor to recollect in terms of Kennedy is his job is to supervise all points of the Red Sox, and the on-field product is simply part of that. Kennedy additionally oversees the membership’s sponsorships, broadcast rights, advertising and marketing, actual property and every part else that comes with working an MLB group, so if issues are roughly going easily in these different areas then possession would not have an incentive to shake issues up on the CEO degree.
Now, on condition that the Red Sox have fired their final three baseball bosses in comparatively fast succession, you can moderately argue whoever made these hires must be held accountable. The bother is these selections aren’t being made by one particular person alone, however by John Henry, Tom Werner, Kennedy and different influential powerbrokers throughout the Fenway Sports Group interior circle. Those folks additionally need Alex Cora to stay round, which is why the Red Sox are solely swapping out one hyperlink within the chain of command slightly than the entire thing.
How rapidly do you suppose the Red Sox may very well be a contender once more? — Daniel L.
If they’re keen to spend money on the membership and make daring strikes, I do not suppose it is loopy to think about the Red Sox being championship contenders as quickly as subsequent season. Just have a look at the Texas Rangers. Last 12 months they went 68-94, now they’re within the World Series.
The Red Sox are able to a fast turnaround as nicely, and so they’ve confirmed it quite a few occasions over the previous decade. They went from utter darkness in 2012 to a World Series title in 2013, back-to-back last-place finishes in 2014-15 to 3 straight AL East titles and the 2018 World Series, after which from the COVID-19 nightmare in 2020 to the 2021 ALCS run.
The drawback, clearly, has been sustaining success so the turnarounds aren’t wanted within the first place, however proper now the membership is uniquely positioned for the long run. The farm system is loaded with each high quality and depth and several other key items are already in place on the large league degree for the subsequent 4 years or longer. The Red Sox have monetary flexibility, intriguing commerce items and fewer holes than you may anticipate, so if the group is able to make its transfer, the transformation may very well be swift and dramatic.
It’s clearly untimely to say subsequent 12 months ought to be World Series or bust, however there is not any cause followers should not anticipate vital enchancment from the Red Sox in 2024.
Source: www.bostonherald.com