The Boston Red Sox missed the playoffs in 2024 after going 81-81. It's the third straight year that the Sox have missed the playoffs. Since winning the World Series in 2018, the Red Sox have made the playoffs only once (2021).
Feb 15, 2024; Tampa, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow talks with media at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Feb. 2024. Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
The Red Sox are set up well moving forward in a lot of different ways. They have young and affordable talent like Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Vaughn Grissom and Tristan Casas. They have a dependable superstar in Rafael Devers and have Trevor Story coming back from injury.
But if they are going to make a true jump in 2025, they are going to have make improvements in the starting rotation.
And new Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow knows that. The following comes from MLBTradeRumors, with a link to the original report (subscription only) in the Boston Globe:
“We know we need to raise the ceiling of the rotation,” Breslow said (link via Alex Speier of the Boston Globe). “I think there are a lot of ways to do that, but we’re going to be really, really open-minded.”
Yes, there are ample ways to raise the ceiling of the staff. They could go out and sign a top-tier free agent like Corbin Burnes or Max Fried. They could bring back an old friend like Nathan Eovaldi, or they could use their burgeoning prospect core to go make a deal, similar to how the Orioles acquired Burnes last offseason from Milwaukee.
Garrett Crochet of the White Sox is one name that consistently comes up in trade discussions, for example.
