The Boston Red Sox statistically had one of the worst bullpens in baseball last year, as they posted a 4.39 ERA (24th) and a 1.34 WHIP (t-24th).
This offseason, they’re currently positioned to lose four relievers (Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, Luis Garcia and Lucas Sims) in free agency, meaning chief baseball officer Craig Breslow will have holes to fill before Spring Training starts.
At the GM Meetings earlier this week, Breslow broke down the type of relievers the Red Sox are interested in adding.
“Especially when you’re bringing guys in with runners on base in leverage situations, the ability to get outs without putting the ball in play is really, really valuable,” Breslow said (via. MassLive). “So I think pushing velocity on the development side and then also seeking relievers that have the ability to get swings and misses is going to be a priority for us.”
There are plenty of hard throwers available on the market, so Breslow shouldn’t have a hard time finding help. However, they’re also looking for another specific group of relievers.
“In the first half, we rode Bernie (Brennan Bernadino) pretty hard and he was really good for us,” Breslow said. “There were times when (Cam) Booser was really effective, when Bailey (Horn), when Zach (Penrod) (were effective). But I think generally as we think about improving the bullpen, adding to that group with a left-handed reliever is something we’re very open to.”
All four of the names he mentioned are still in the organization, so they could get opportunities to fill in as lefty specialists in the bullpen in 2025, but Breslow is and should be looking for upgrades.
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