Copyright MassLive
LAS VEGAS — Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has said he wants to add a top-of-the-rotation pitcher and a power bat to his roster this winter. Making a major addition to the bullpen is less of a focus as the offseason begins, then. Boston got its most notable piece of bullpen-related business done over Labor Day weekend by signing All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman to a one-year, $13.3 million extension that includes a vesting option for 2026. In retaining Chapman, Breslow filled his ninth-inning hole before it opened. Now, the focus is likely to be on depth additions behind Chapman and Garrett Whitlock, who seems poised to return to the eighth-inning setup role after a prolonged stretch of dominance to end the season. It was a surprise, then, to see the Red Sox linked to top free agent reliever Devin Williams in a report from The Athletic on Wednesday. “We feel good about what Aroldis and Whit bring, both the performance and the consistency and stability,” Breslow said. “When you have two guys that can pitch in the back end and did so in such dominating fashion, you feel really good about what you’re looking for now. “At this point, I’m not going to take anything off the table, but would imagine that we’ll spend our significant time elsewhere first, just given the way we want to prioritize things.” Big expenditures, both on the free agent and trade markets, are likely to be aimed at adding a top-of-the-rotation arm to pair with Cy Young runner-up Garrett Crochet and a bat or two to add pop to the middle of the lineup. Unlike three years ago, when Chaim Bloom committed significant resources to adding setup man Chris Martin and closer Kenley Jansen on two-year contracts, or a year ago when Breslow gave Chapman $10.75 million on a one-year deal, the Red Sox are likely to look at depth pieces when it comes to bullpen additions. A free agent class headlined by Edwin Diaz, Devin Williams, Robert Suarez, Brad Keller, Raisel Iglesias, Ryan Helsley, Kyle Finnegan, Luke Weaver, Tyler Rogers, Seranthony Dominguez and Pete Fairbanks also includes plenty of veteran options, both right-handed and left-handed, that can likely be had on one-year deals. Look for the Red Sox to pursue accomplished relievers who can pitch the seventh inning or match up against certain hitters in the mold of Justin Wilson, who was signed to a one-year, $2.25 million deal last November and pitched to a 3.35 ERA over 61 games this season. The Red Sox will be tasked with replacing two veteran lefties in Wilson and Steven Matz, who are both free agents but are strong potential roster fits as one-year, left-handed options. A source indicated that because high-upside right-handed options like Justin Slaten, Greg Weissert and Zack Kelly are all slated to return, the Red Sox might be focused on adding a left-handed reliever to match up against lefty hitters in a role similar to the one Wilson served in 2025. Breslow, though, was careful to mention that right-handed additions are possible as well. “I wouldn’t typecast it to a ‘lefty reliever’ spot,” he said. “When we identify the right fit for the roster, we are prepared to act aggressively and decisively to get that player to Boston. “We’ll look to tweak that group and add to that group if there’s any way that we can. I think we had some success in doing that, whether that’s the Rule 5 Draft (where Whitlock and Slaten came from), or some small acquisitions, guys like Wilson for us last year. There’s a number of different ways to build out the pen, but being able to start with Aroldis and Whit is pretty reassuring.” Pending trades and roster cuts that might be necessitated by other moves, the Red Sox expect to have Slaten, Weissert, Kelly, Jordan Hicks and swingman Cooper Criswell in the right-handed mix along with Whitlock next year while also retaining control over lefties Brennan Bernardino and Chris Murphy. The Red Sox are also open to finding a high-leverage relief option or two based on who doesn’t crack the rotation out of spring training. Behind Crochet, a potential big-name addition and Bello are a group of several candidates who will vie for rotation spots but could slide into the bullpen if a need arises. That group consists of righties Kutter Crawford, Richard Fitts, Luis Perales and Criswell as well as lefties Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, Kyle Harrison and Patrick Sandoval. The Sox want all of them to remain starters on a long-term basis, but like they showed by putting Tolle in the bullpen late in 2025, are open to maximizing certain pitch mixes in shorter stints if need be. “We’ll see how any additions that we make to the roster could impact starting pitching that might pitch out of the ‘pen vs. providing length and continue to get built out in Worcester,” Breslow said. “I think there are a number of pieces that can pitch out of bullpen successfully.”
