The Red Sox may be in the market for pitching help this winter, but the two biggest names at the top aren’t landing in Boston.
On Wednesday, WEEI’s Rob Bradford reported that the club is not currently involved with Freddy Peralta. Bradford wrote, "In case you were wondering, it does not appear the Red Sox are in on Freddy Peralta," while ESPN’s Jeff Passan said Boston is also out on Tarik Skubal.
Passan wrote, "Like the Cubs, the Red Sox are a large-market team whose ownership operates with midmarket sensibilities. They’re not in on Skubal."
That lines up with how Boston appears to be approaching the offseason. The Red Sox can always use another high-end arm, but this doesn’t look like the winter to chase either ace.
Their rotation already projects as a strength, even with Sonny Gray heading to the open market. If the 2027 season began today, the group would be Garrett Crochet, Payton Tolle, Ranger Suarez, Jake Bennett and likely Brayan Bello.
Boston has certainly shown a willingness to spend and swing big on pitching in recent years. Last offseason, the Red Sox gave Suarez a five-year, $130 million deal and also brought in Gray from the St.
Louis Cardinals. A year earlier, they landed Crochet from the Chicago White Sox in a blockbuster trade.
They also pursued Max Fried, though they came up short.
Still, the need in Boston doesn’t look like another headline starter. The bigger issue is offense, not the rotation, and a massive deal for either Skubal or Peralta wouldn’t address the club’s real problem areas.
A better fit, according to the source report, would be something along the lines of extending Adley Rutschman long term and maybe signing someone like Seiya Suzuki. If the Red Sox do add a starter this offseason, names like Shane Bieber or Nick Martinez would make more sense than going all-in on Skubal or Peralta.
For now, the message is pretty clear: don’t expect either ace in Boston in 2027.
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Red Sox Offseason Pitching Hunt Could Lead To One Crucial Trade Match
The Red Sox are heading into an offseason with rotation questions, and Sonny Grays likely departure in free agency only sharpens the need to add more certainty on the mound. With Boston expected to shop for pitching help, the trade market could become just as important as free agency, especially if the club wants someone who can fit into the middle of the rotation and stabilize things quickly.
Seattle is one of the more intriguing places to look. The Mariners have pitchers such as George Kirby and Emerson Hancock who could help Boston, and there is at least a sense that Seattle might listen if it means bolstering its offense in return. For the Red Sox, the appeal is obvious: they have the kind of prospects or young players that could make a deal work, but whether the two sides line up on value is the question hanging over any potential match. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Face A Tough Trade Debate Over Another Big Bat
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Hernandez also fits into a broader conversation about how aggressive Boston wants to be after another year of weighing talent against payroll flexibility. The club has been linked to big bats before, only to stop short when the cost in money or trade pieces became too steep, and this case appears to carry the same tension. For now, it is less a rumor with momentum than a test of priorities, with the Red Sox trying to decide whether adding another impact hitter is worth the price it would take to get him. [Read more 🡒]
Brayan Bello Gave The Red Sox A Reason To Believe Again
Brayan Bello spent much of 2026 trying to get back to the place the Red Sox always envisioned for him. He opened the year in a difficult spot, lost his hold on the starting rotation, and even had to reset in Triple-A before returning to Boston in a bullpen role. Once he came back, though, the right-hander started to look more like the pitcher the organization has been waiting on, handling long relief with real effectiveness and giving the club a much steadier look on the mound.
By the end of the season, Bello had turned that recovery into something more meaningful. He followed the bullpen stretch with three strong starts, and the underlying indicators moved in the right direction as well, with his strikeout rate and FIP both improving. For a Red Sox team always searching for dependable starting pitching, the late-season run gave them a legitimate reason to think Bello could be back in a full-time rotation role in 2027. [Read more 🡒]