We're well past time for Craig Breslow to put up or shut up with the Boston Red Sox. Whenever the club finished runner-up in the bidding for Blake Snell to the Dodgers and even more so as they were a highly considered also-ran in the Juan Soto sweepstakes, you could somewhat justify that as there still being a lot of offseason left. Now that Max Fried has signed with the rival New York Yankees in what appeared to be a bidding war between the AL East foes, the excuse-making is done.
Breslow and the Red Sox, according to reports from Chris Cotillo of MassLive, offered significantly less to Fried than the Yankees, which is obviously why he ended up signing with New York. That's a huge blemish on Breslow, especially with how forward he and the rest of the front office have been regarding the possibility of making big moves this offseason. Finishing runner-up this many times brings into question the ability to get a deal done.
But the Red Sox have to get a deal done lest the entirety of the fanbase start revolting. They have to make big moves with a roster that, with the right maneuvering, could be primed to make a deep playoff run and even take over the AL East. It's right there in front of them. After losing Fried to the Yankees, though, they can't sit around and try to passively make moves. It has to be a time of aggression and, specifically, being aggressive with these three moves in response would do the trick.
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Pitching remains the priority for the Red Sox and the one thing that Boston absolutely can't miss on, which they are getting dangerously close to doing at this point. At the same time, this is still an offense that needs one clear upgrade, that being an elite right-handed bat that they could insert into the lineup. And as I've said all offseason, no one fits that bill better than Teoscar Hernandez.
Despite being on three different teams across the past four seasons, Hernandez has mashed wherever he's been. He's hit at least 29 homers in each of the past four campaigns, even in 2022 when he was limited to 131 games, and has slashed .273/.327/.486 over that span.
More importantly for a Red Sox lineup that was left hapless against left-handed pitching for the majority of the year in 2024, Hernandez has crushed in that capacity. In his career, he's slashed .278/.334/.560 against lefties. What's more, his work at Fenway Park has been electric with a career .950 OPS that includes 14 home runs, nine doubles, two triples and 44 RBI.
Especially considering that the Yankees are also reportedly interested in Hernandez, the Red Sox need to make their aggressive move and get the best bat that they should be and have been targeting this offseason in free agency.
This is the most obvious pivot of all time for the Red Sox when it comes to the pitching conundrum. Boston missed on two of the top three arms available in free agency now, Fried and Blake Snell. So the only possible move left on the open market, aside from a trade, would be to go out and land the third and perhaps best option of the trio, Corbin Burnes.
Burnes, the 2021 NL Cy Young winner with the Brewers, has been a dominant force from the right side. Since 2020, he's thrown 816.2 innings with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP along with a 10.4 K/9 rate. He's been as much of the goods as you could possibly ask for, especially just turning 30 years old in October.
According to Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam of MassLive, the Red Sox have already turned their attention to Burnes as they should. If Boston was outbid on Fried by the Yankees and on Snell by the Dodgers, that should absolutely not be allowed to happen again. If we're going to have the front office talking about being aggressive, being willing to spend, being actually invested this offseason, that's just lip service until pen is put to paper.
With the dire need for starting pitching this offseason and how the Red Sox brass has talked, it would frankly be unacceptable to walk away goinig 0-for-3 with the top targets. Make sure that doesn't happen, offer whatever number gets the deal done, and have Corbin Burnes on the mound at Fenway Park come Opening Day.
But also, the Red Sox shouldn't stop at Burnes. If Boston actually wants to make even more noise and get one up on the Yankees, it's time to flex those trade muscles and go get the top trade chip on the market, Garrett Crochet.
While recent reports have indicated that Boston has not been overly involved in Crochet trade talks to this point, they can flip the script in an instant. No potential suitor for the White Sox southpaw is better suited to make a deal than the Red Sox. They have the farm system talent, they have a surplus of offensive prospects, and they have the ability to work to get a deal that Chicago would make.
There is inherent risk in trading for Crochet given his lack of innings pitched as a starter. However, the hope is that the strikeout wizard with elite stuff can be the Tarik Skubal of the future. The pure stuff is undeniable, he just needs to have the breakout season that gets it done. If you're the Red Sox, you're in the perfect position to take that risk and potentially lockdown a perennial Cy Young contender with an extension.
If it's not Crochet, then look to Luis Castillo, take a swing on Jared Jones, go all-out to try and get Dylan Cease. But the Red Sox absolutely need to flex their trade muscles and the farm system that's been rebuilt so beautifully to send another shot across the bow at the Yankees and the rest of the Amercian League with a statement blockbuster trade.
