Other AL East teams are swinging big deals, so why aren’t the Red Sox?

This looks like an opportune time for chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom to be working the phones.Barry Chin/Globe Staff

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Yankees general manager Brian Cashman compared the post-lockout frenzy of signings and trades to trying to drink from a firehose.

He took a big gulp Sunday, helping put together a five-player deal with the Twins that brought hard-hitting third baseman Josh Donaldson to New York.

Toronto took a swig Saturday by adding lefty Yusei Kikuchi to its rotation on a $36 million deal.

The Red Sox? They’ve tried two cautious sips so far with the signings of lefty relievers Jake Diekman and Matt Strahm.

More is needed. Three teams from the American League East qualified for the playoffs last season, and it would have been four under the 12-team format in place for this season.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was right on Monday when he described the AL East as the best division in sports, not just baseball.

For his team to keep up, it’ll take more than two bullpen arms. The Sox need another hitter, preferably an outfielder, and more pitching help.

During a 24-minute press conference Monday, Bloom was careful not to raise expectations. But it’s hard to deny the Sox are well positioned to make a significant move.

Chaim Bloom taking questions. Said this period following the lockout has been the busiest of his career. pic.twitter.com/nR6nVP9XEh

— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) March 14, 2022

They return most of the key players from a team that won 92 games last season and finished two victories short of the World Series.

They also have roughly $110 million dropping off the payroll after this season and a much-improved farm system.

“We want to be nimble enough to take advantage of all opportunities,” Bloom said.

The Sox are at Fred Astaire levels of nimbleness these days. No deal is out of their reach. They can, and should, be going after free agents such as Kris Bryant, Nick Castellanos, Carlos Correa, Jorge Soler, and Trevor Story and/or using their prospect depth to make trades to improve the rotation.

That the new collective bargaining agreement raised the thresholds of the competitive balance tax makes that even easier.

Chaim Bloom and the Red Sox are facing questions at the dawn of spring training.Barry Chin/Globe Staff

“It opens more options for us maybe than we’ve been working with the last couple of years,” Bloom acknowledged. “What we should be trying to do is use all our resources to be as great as we can, whatever that means.

“Especially looking ahead, flexibility is important because it gives you access to the whole menu.”

Bloom has done what the Red Sox asked of him in his nearly 2½ years on the job. He has gotten the payroll under control, improved how the team develops players, and worked the margins to bring low-cost talent into the organization.

His most expensive signing to date was an $18.75 million extension for Matt Barnes, and his longest commitment was two years plus an option for Hirokazu Sawamura.

Now is the time to flip the switch and add another prominent player, especially with Xander Bogaerts, Nate Eovaldi, J.D. Martinez, and Christian Vázquez all potentially gone after this season.

Signing Bryant, Castellanos, or Soler would add power to an outfield that for now projects to have Jackie Bradley Jr., Kiké Hernández, and Alex Verdugo.

Or sign Story to play second base and serve as a hedge for Bogaerts opting out after the season.

I asked Bloom if the Sox needed another outfielder. He started to say “yes” before stopping.

“We would like to add position players,” he said. “We do have flexibility, versatility where it allows us to get creative. We have opportunities to boost our outfield in some way.”

Hernández’s defensive versatility allows the Sox the option of adding an infielder or an outfielder. They could sign a free agent to play left field — Castellanos would be my choice — move Verdugo to right field (where he played well in 2020) and use Bradley in center.

Could Nick Castellanos be a fit at Fenway?Paul Vernon/Associated Press

“The short answer is there’s definitely opportunity out there,” Bloom said. “It’s a lane for us to make this team better.”

Then hit the gas and get in that lane. The competition in the AL East is already there.