Craig Breslow Reveals ‘Lofty’ Goal For Very Important Red Sox Offseason

The Boston Red Sox already have four quality arms in their starting rotation and perhaps a fifth if Nick Pivetta accepts his qualifying offer.

But Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow isn’t satisfied with the unit as currently constituted.

Sure, Tanner Houck turned into an All-Star last season and Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Lucas Giolito, who missed all of the 2024 campaign due to Tommy John surgery, are reliable options, but Breslow knows something is missing on the staff.

What is that exactly? Well, a frontline starter and Breslow seems determined to acquire one this offseason.

“I think we have to,” Breslow told reporters, per The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “We have lofty goals. We know we need to raise the ceiling of the rotation. I think there are a lot of ways to do that, but we’re going to be really, really open-minded.”

Breslow could go through free agency to sign an ace with pitchers like Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Max Fried available on the open market or he could turn toward pulling off a trade. It seems the latter at the moment is his preferred method to obtaining an elite arm.

According to MassLive’s Sean McAdam, the Red Sox are “right in the thick of things” when it comes to trading for Chicago White Sox star Garrett Crochet. Crochet, who posted a 3.58 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 146 innings, is a coveted asset with the Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers also reportedly interested in the 25-year-old left-hander.

Whether it’s via a trade or through free agency, Breslow and the Red Sox are going to have to outbid fellow suitors to get the type of high-caliber pitcher they need.

But it appears Breslow is willing to do what he needs to in an effort to check a major item off Boston’s offseason to-do list.