The Red Sox don’t sound like a team hunting for a splashy ace this winter. They sound like a club looking for the right kind of depth - and maybe a trade market fit that can hold up over the long haul.
Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow made that clear in a pre-GM meetings interview with Sean McAdam of MassLive, saying Boston wants to keep its pitching staff among the league’s best. That mission gets a lot trickier with Sonny Gray gone to free agency and not expected back, but the Red Sox still have a strong base to work from. Payton Tolle, Ranger Suarez and Jake Bennett are all set to return, and Garrett Crochet is expected to be healthy.
The shape of the rotation, though, creates a very specific problem. Every remaining starter is left-handed. Boston does have some internal right-handed options, but Breslow’s comments about depth point toward the possibility of an outside addition, likely from either the free-agent pool or the trade market.
That need is made sharper by the uncertainty around the organization’s internal righties. Brayan Bello is right-handed, but his struggles in the rotation last season could leave the Red Sox hesitant to lean on him there again, even if he flashed promise late in the year.
Tanner Houck is another tough bet after spending more than a year on the injured list between the 2025-26 seasons and making just one emergency start, in Game 162. Kutter Crawford is even harder to project after not appearing in the majors since 2024 because of a string of injuries, and he could even be a non-tender candidate.
McAdam said before speaking with Breslow that he didn’t expect Boston to pay for a true front-of-the-rotation arm to replace Gray. That lines up with the bigger picture: even without Gray, the rotation still has enough strength that the Red Sox don’t necessarily need another elite starter.
What Breslow does seem to value is optionable pitching depth, and that could push Boston toward a younger, controllable arm via trade. MLB Trade Rumors pointed to right-handers Carmen Mlodzinski of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Will Warren of the New York Yankees as possible trade candidates. Mlodzinski has one option remaining and is under team control through 2030, while Warren has two options left and is under control through 2031.
Either pitcher would fit the general mold Boston appears to be targeting, though Warren would be the tougher get. The Yankees would almost certainly demand a heavy in-division premium, if they’d deal him to the Red Sox at all. Still, the two clubs have made deals in recent years, which at least keeps the door cracked.
The Pirates may be a more realistic trade partner, especially with Breslow’s history of dealing with them under former Red Sox executive Ben Cherington. And with the free-agent class described as relatively underwhelming, the trade route makes plenty of sense if Boston wants the exact kind of pitcher Breslow has in mind.
The catch is simple: pitchers with years of control and option value don’t come cheap. If the Red Sox want that kind of arm, they may have to pay for it.
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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
The Red Sox spent much of the season looking for more thump in the middle of the lineup, so it is no surprise that Teoscar Hernandez has surfaced as an offseason name worth watching. The Dodgers outfielder brings the kind of right-handed power Boston has lacked at times, and his contract structure makes him a more complicated fit than a simple wish-list addition. Any serious pursuit would have to balance the appeal of his recent production against the realities of how much room the Red Sox want to leave themselves to address other needs.
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 🡒]