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After a .500 season that left the Red Sox out of the postseason for the third straight year, there are many questions that face the club heading into the offseason.

Here are five of the most relevant.

Will they get an ace?

Tanner Houck emerged as an All-Star before faltering in the second half. Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford also had their moments. The members of the homegrown trio each reached 30 starts while achieving career highs in innings pitched. But are any of them true aces? Probably not.

The Red Sox could use an established star to put at the top of their rotation. In their end-of-year press conference, club president and CEO Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow made it sound like the team will pursue external needs more aggressively this winter than in the previous few. An ace can change the confidence level of a club.

How to improve the defense?

For two years, the Red Sox have been one of the worst defensive teams in baseball, particularly in the infield. It will be fascinating to see how they fix this.

The quickest solution is for shortstop Trevor Story to make it through a season healthy, but that won’t address the problem entirely. The Sox also need stability at second base. Will Rafael Devers be asked to move off third base -- something that could allow him to stay healthier? If Devers does leave the hot corner, that will likely mean a trade of either first baseman Triston Casas or designated hitter Masataka Yoshida.

Can they balance out the lineup?

The Red Sox simply tilt too far left with their position-player alignment. They need to get some right-handed hitters who can take advantage of the Green Monster. Tyler O’Neill certainly did that, but he is about to become a free agent. The Sox will likely explore bringing O’Neill back, but the outfielder is represented by agent Scott Boras, who isn’t one to make quick decisions in the offseason. If O’Neill leaves, look for the Red Sox to go after two right-handed bats. If he stays, they’ll look to add one.

Alex Bregman, Willy Adames and Teoscar Hernández are players who would fit in nicely. A healthy Story and an improved Vaughn Grissom are internal solutions.

Is Roman Anthony ready to make the club on Opening Day?

In MLB Pipeline’s updated rankings, Anthony is the No. 3 prospect in MLB, and he also surpassed Marcelo Mayer to become Boston’s top prospect.

The left-handed hitter with a sweet swing had a .982 OPS in 131 at-bats following his promotion to Triple-A Worcester. Does he still have anything to prove at that level? If Anthony breaks camp with the Red Sox, how will that impact the rest of the outfield, including left-handed-hitting Wilyer Abreu? There are a lot of moving parts Breslow has to consider in the coming weeks.

Will Garrett Whitlock move back to the bullpen?

After missing all of 2024 due to right elbow surgery, Lucas Giolito is certain to exercise his player option and join Houck, Bello and Crawford in the rotation. And his veteran presence will be needed, assuming Nick Pivetta won’t return in free agency. If the Red Sox acquire a starter, as posed in the first question, where does that leave Whitlock, who is also coming off right elbow surgery?

The guess here is that Whitlock will move back to the bullpen, which should erase some of the durability issues he’s had in recent years. In interviews during the final weekend of the season, Whitlock expressed an openness to do whatever the medical staff thinks will keep him the healthiest.

With veterans Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin both eligible for free agency, there are expected to be numerous additions to the bullpen. Having Whitlock back out there alongside fellow Rule 5 pick Justin Slaten would provide some continuity.