Are there reasons to think this Red Sox offseason will be different?
Last week, team officials vowed it was time to end a years-long run of mediocrity and idle Octobers. But on the surface, the suggestion of a team in need of getting to the postseason didn’t sound all that different from what had been articulated roughly one year earlier.
“We owe it to our fans to be decisive, aggressive, and clear about the mandate, which is to get back to playing baseball in October,” Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy said in September of 2023.
Those words were followed by an offseason whose primary payoff reflected long-term motivations — most notably, the trade of Chris Sale for Vaughn Grissom. It’s thus fair to ask why Red Sox fans should believe this winter will be any different.
Certainly, there will and should be an element of “seeing is believing” when it comes to the Red Sox taking a more aggressive stance on upgrades motivated by the coming year rather than a more distant future. That said, there were notable shifts in the tone of the remarks at the team’s end-of-season press conference that pointed to a more ambitious offseason.
Among them:
EYE ON THE DIVISION: In press conferences in late 2023 — first to announce the firing of chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, then the end-of-year availability, and again with the introduction of Craig Breslow as Bloom’s replacement — the Sox’ ambitions were measured.
While chairman Tom Werner’s suggestion of an offseason that would be “full throttle in every way” overshadowed nearly every other remark for a two-month period, that phraseology was an exception to nearly everything else the Sox said. In the same session, Werner offered more measured remarks.
“We know that we have to be competitive next year. We’re going to be competitive next year,” he said at Breslow’s introduction. “It is important for us to make decisions that will not be just effective in 2024 but past 2024. So those are the decisions that will drive us.”
Last Monday, the Sox changed tone in two ways. The measured notion of being “competitive” has been replaced by a clearer and more aggressive goal: Winning the AL East in 2025.
“It’s time to take that next step. It really is time,” said Kennedy. “You really need to build a roster and have a team that is built to win that division. That’s where we want to get to.
“We just have to go and do the right things that put us in that position to push towards 90-95 wins.”
In reexamining the Grissom deal on the “310 to Left” podcast, Breslow said the moves this winter will be made with different goals in mind.
“That was a decision that was made with a longer-term focus in mind as much as 2024,” said Breslow. “Exclusively looking at the future is not something that we should be prepared to do as we embark on this offseason heading into 2025. Otherwise, fans would be rightfully frustrated with this continued push-off into the future of the window of contention.
“We can no longer ask our fans to look to the future, to think about a Red Sox team that’s capable of winning the division and capable of making a deep postseason run. We have to talk to decisive actions that we’re taking right now to put a better team on the field in 2025.”
MATURITY OF THE CORE: The Sox proceeded cautiously last offseason, operating with a “do-no-harm” approach to the future beyond 2024. This offseason, with a number of young players having proven themselves as big league contributors and four standout prospects in Triple A, the Sox believe they’re in a different spot. As such, team officials said they’re willing to consider signings and trades that reflect a different risk/reward calculus.
“In terms of risk-taking and being bold, and being creative and aggressive, [I’ve] had many, many conversations with [Breslow] and [manager Alex Cora], John Henry, Tom Werner, and Mike Gordon the last couple of weeks, and the consistent theme — especially from John — has been building blocks,” said Kennedy. “The building blocks are here, and we need to take advantage of that. And that’s what makes it exciting.”
Breslow added that the roster decisions — including whether to have top prospects such as Roman Anthony or Kristian Campbell open 2025 in the big leagues — will be informed by a determination to chase an AL East title.
“It’s time to deliver the team that’s capable of winning the AL East and making a deep playoff run,” said Breslow. “If that means that guys who haven’t yet made their big-league debut need to be on the team to help us do that, then we have to be prepared for that. And if it means we have to be aggressive in bringing players in who aren’t currently in the organization to complement those who are, we have to be open to doing that as well.”
The accumulation of big league-ready and nearly big league-ready talent also has changed the readiness to deal from a potential surplus of position players.
“There are going to be a lot of really good major league players who aren’t going to realize their value in Red Sox uniforms, because only one guy can do that at a time at second base or shortstop or center field,” said Breslow.
FRONT OFFICE STABILITY: It’s worth remembering that a year ago the Sox were enduring upheaval. They were still interviewing candidates to replace Bloom and a month from hiring Breslow. When Breslow was hired, his initial focus was on infrastructure — hiring a new pitching coach and director of pitching at the top of the list — rather than team-building.
No longer. Breslow has had almost a year in the organization. On multiple occasions, Kennedy said that with Breslow and Cora, the team has trusted leadership in place for the long-term. Presumably, that means that Breslow is better positioned to act this offseason and that Sox owners trust him to make the necessary bold decisions.
Will that mean different moves this offseason? That’s to be determined. But at the least, Red Sox leadership has articulated a shift in the direction of winning in 2025 against which their actions will now be measured.
More Red Sox analysis
• Evaluating the Red Sox’ pitchers in 2024
• Evaluating the Red Sox’ position players in 2024
• Red Sox roster rundown: Examining the contract status of every player
Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.