Breslow: Red Sox running 'our own race' in hunt for pitching
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NASHVILLE -- At some point in the coming weeks, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is going to get a right-handed bat. In addition, he’s likely to get a starting second baseman.
But both of those needs are considered secondary, as Breslow is locked in on bolstering Boston’s starting rotation.
The question is this: When will the bottleneck break?
“The short answer is, I'm not sure,” Breslow said. “You know, I think there's a fairly clear consensus around who are kind of the top-tier names, who's the next tier, and it could be a single domino that needs to fall. Or it could be a number of those, you know.
“We're obviously engaged in multiple fronts. And for us, we're trying to kind of run our own race, identify the guys that we think can provide value, can help us in ‘24 and beyond and stick to that.”
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Aaron Nola did re-sign with the Phillies on Nov. 19. Sonny Gray signed with the Cardinals on Nov. 27.
But there are many quality arms still on the market, and many teams trying to acquire them.
Via free agency, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Eduardo Rodriguez (spotted at the Winter Meetings on Monday) and Lucas Giolito are there for the taking.
The trade market includes Dylan Cease (White Sox), Corbin Burnes (Brewers), Tyler Glasnow (Rays), Logan Gilbert (Mariners) and Shane Bieber (Guardians).
Breslow has no lean when it comes to free agency or trade. The simple goal is to improve a starting rotation that finished 22nd in the Majors with a 4.68 ERA last season.
“Hard to know,” Breslow said when asked which path is more likely. “Actively engaged in both. You know, they both come with multiple variables that we need to consider. In order to find a trade partner, you need to align on value and need. And then similarly in free agency, we want this to be a partnership and a fit where players are kind of choosing the Red Sox in the same way that we're choosing players.”
While the Red Sox spent the past four years rebuilding their farm system and being reluctant to trade any top prospects, Breslow indicated he isn’t against doing so in the right deal.
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“The player development and scouting groups have done a great job in amassing position player depth,” said Breslow.
“I think for the right deal, the answer is yes, we need to be willing to give up position-player capital in order to get starting pitching and controllable starting pitching, because it takes time for that pipeline to develop internally. And we have to deal with the resources that we currently have, and we have a really exciting group of position players, and we need to figure out the ways to balance that out.”
A new director of pitching
While the Red Sox are still waiting to improve their pitching staff, they did improve their pitching infrastructure Monday with the news that Justin Willard has been hired as the club’s director of pitching.
Willard was widely respected for the work he did with the Twins in a similar role.
“We're really excited to bring him on board,” said Breslow. “Someone that comes with a pretty strong track record of pitching development, as we've kind of been mindful of what Minnesota's done over the last few years in the development of some of their guys. So we feel really lucky, really fortunate. He spent quite a bit of time with [new Red Sox pitching coach] Andrew Bailey. So we feel like those two will be in lockstep.
“And pitching development is something that I feel comfortable kind of diving into, and I feel like we've got the foundation for a really strong infrastructure. It's something that's going to need to evolve and grow over time, but it’s off to a really good start.”
Willard will work out of Fenway Park.
“We feel really comfortable in his ability, kind of both in terms of technical and tactical skills and then also like leadership and strategic thinking,” said Breslow. “He will oversee kind of the wing-to-wing pitching infrastructure.”
Third-base coach to come from within
Breslow indicated that the team’s next third-base coach will come from the current staff. The most logical candidate would be Andy Fox, who is currently in the role of field coordinator and could remain in that role if he goes to the third-base box.
“I think it's an opportunity to increase the accountability across our Major League staff to give the group a chance to step up and take additional responsibility,” Breslow said. “So I think we're really excited about it.”