Red Sox

There are a handful of free agents that could help them fill out their top needs this offseason.

MLB’s offseason is officially here.

The offseason commenced late Wednesday night when the Dodgers put the finishing touches on their five-game World Series win over the Yankees. After watching a Fall Classic that pitted the Red Sox’ arch-rival against one of their former stars, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow will look to improve his squad that went 81-81 in 2024.

As Breslow is set to begin his second offseason in charge of the Red Sox’ baseball operations, here are six things to know about Boston entering the offseason.

They have a few notable players hitting free agency.

The Red Sox won’t be losing a core player in free agency this offseason, but they have a handful of players who made noticeable contributions to the team last season hitting the open market.

Closer Kenley Jansen is the biggest name of the group. He recorded 27 saves last season, serving as the Red Sox’ closer for the last two years as he’s set to become one of the best relievers available in free agency. It seems likely that Jansen’s days in Boston are over, though, considering how the 2024 season ended.

Jansen’s setup man is also a free agent. Chris Martin, 38, wants to pitch for another season as he prepares to field offers from teams. He joined the Red Sox in 2023 as well, posting a 2.16 ERA over 100 appearances with the team.

Tyler O’Neill will probably receive the largest deal this offseason of any free agent. In his first year in Boston, the 29-year-old outfielder had one of the best seasons of his career. O’Neill hit .241 with 31 homers and a .847 OPS, proving to be the Red Sox’ best right-handed hitter. Boston reportedly doesn’t plan to give him the $21.05 million qualifying offer.

Nick Pivetta is also set to hit free agency. The 31-year-old starting pitcher had an effective season on the mound, posting a 4.14 ERA over 26 starts. Boston is also reportedly unlikely to give Pivetta a qualifying offer.

Beyond those four, most of the other Red Sox’ free agents had smaller roles with the team in 2024. Trade deadline acquisitions Luis García, Danny Jansen, Lucas Sims, and James Paxton will all hit the open market. Infielder Bobby Dalbec, who finished the season with Triple-A Worcester, also declared for free agency on Saturday.

Starting pitcher Lucas Giolito, who didn’t pitch in 2024 after suffering a season-ending injury, picked up his $19 million option for the 2025 season earlier in the week.

There are a handful of free-agent options to help possibly serve their biggest need.

Once again, the Red Sox’ biggest need entering the offseason is starting pitching. Boston’s 57 quality starts were below the league average, an indication that it wasn’t getting enough innings and high-quality production out of its starters.

Luckily for the Red Sox, there are some top-of-the-rotation options in free agency to put in the rotation with Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck, and others. Orioles ace Corbin Burnes is viewed as the top pitcher on the open market while Braves star Max Fried, two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, Guardians star Shane Bieber, Mets lefty Sean Manaea, and Dodgers standout Jack Flaherty loom as potential options.

Gerrit Cole potentially added his name to that list on Saturday. He opted out of his contract with the Yankees. New York has until Monday to void the opt-out, where it would have to add one year worth $36 million to the four years, $144 million that was previously left on his deal.

The wild card is Roki Sasaki. It’s unknown if the 22-year-old Japanese pitcher will be posted this offseason, but there’s been speculation that the sweepstakes for him could be similar to the chase for Yoshinobu Yamamoto last offseason, whenever Sasaki does get posted.

There’s one major prize among the free-agent positional players.

The top free-agent prize this offseason is Juan Soto. The Yankees’ 26-year-old star outfielder is set to hit free agency after hitting a career-high 41 homers and helping New York reach the World Series. Soto also said he was set to talk with all 30 teams as he’s expected to land one of the priciest contracts in MLB history.

Soto doesn’t fill a pressing need for the Red Sox. In fact, Boston has a bit of a logjam of left-handed hitting outfielders at the moment. So that, coupled with the Red Sox’ relative lack of spending over the last few years, has made Boston a bit of an early long-shot to land Soto.

There aren’t many other star hitters available in free agency. However, there are a few who would help the Red Sox in the few areas where they have weaknesses at in the lineup. Mets first baseman Pete Alonso and Astros third baseman Alex Bregman have been speculated as possible targets for the Red Sox if they opt to trade first baseman Triston Casas. There’s also Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander and Brewers shortstop Willy Adames looming as possibilities.

Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández is also set to hit free agency again. The Red Sox made an offer to Hernández last offseason, but the multi-year offer was reportedly viewed as too low by the slugger’s camp. So, he signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers, helping them win a title.

They have one of the top farm systems in baseball, potentially arming them for trades.

If the Red Sox aren’t able to land a big fish in free agency, they have other avenues to make an impact move this offseason.

Boston’s farm system is widely viewed as one of the few best in baseball, recently ranked third by Bleacher Report. It also had six players ranked in MLB Pipeline’s most recent top 100 prospect rankings, including three in the top 10 and four in the top 25.

The four in the top 25 (outfielder Roman Antony, shortstop Marcelo Mayer, second baseman Kristian Campbell, catcher Kyle Teel) are all expected to make their MLB debuts sometime within the next year. As the Red Sox are dealing with a bit of a logjam in the outfield, it might be natural to assume that they could move one of those prospects or another player on the active roster to help fill other needs.

Breslow even hinted at that possibly happening in an interview with NESN in October.

“I think we at least have to be open to it,” Breslow said on the idea of trading prospects or players. “I don’t think we’re going to find ourselves in a position where we have to make a trade for the sake of making a trade. We would make a trade to address a deficiency or a void or an opportunity to improve somewhere else.

“But there are certain positional constraints and reality that we have to face – namely that only eight position players can be out there at a time. So, there are going to be a lot of really good Major League players that aren’t going to realize their value in Red Sox uniforms because only one guy can do that at a time at second base, shortstop, or center field.”

If the Red Sox are open to being a big player in trades this offseason, the top rumored name on the trade market is White Sox lefty Garrett Crochet. The 25-year-old went 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA last season and would be an obvious fit for the Red Sox’ rotation.

A few key players from their 2024 season are arbitration-eligible.

Jarren Duran, Kutter Crawford, and Houck each had breakout seasons for the Red Sox in 2024, with Duran and Houck being named All-Stars. They make up the Red Sox’ small group of arbitration-eligible players this offseason, being the only three players who are arbitration-eligible.

As all three have fewer than four seasons of service time, so each is expected to receive a relatively smaller salary in arbitration. MLB Trade Rumors projected that Duran would receive a $4.9 million salary with Houck ($4.5 million) and Crawford ($3.5 million) falling behind him.

They’re projected to have plenty of money to spend before reaching the CBT.

The Red Sox can spend this offseason without worrying about the competitive balance luxury tax (CBT), at least to open the winter. Boston is currently projected to have $177.6 million committed in payroll for the 2025 season, which is $63.4 million below the $241 million CBT, per Red Sox Payroll on X.

Of course, whether the Red Sox chose to spend the money or not is another question. The two-year, $38.5 million deal they gave Giolito was the largest contract they gave out last offseason. Trevor Story was the last player to receive a contract worth more than $100 million in free agency, signing a six-year, $140 million deal in 2022.