Red Sox’s Biggest Need Identified By MLB Writer

The offseason is heating up Major League Baseball, and the Boston Red Sox find themselves at the center of the hot stove action.

Boston’s already made two significant trades, first by acquiring Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals, and more recently, in acquiring Johan Oviedo in a five-player deal that sent Jhostynxon “The Password” Garcia to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Winter is coming, and the Red Sox are expected to keep making moves. The annual Winter Meetings are traditionally a time that transactions start churning at a higher rate, which means next week could get interesting.

With all of this in mind, Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly wrote on Friday about what he believes to be the Red Sox’s biggest need remaining: a cleanup hitter.

“Boston could try to bring back Alex Bregman, who had a tremendous 2025 season with them,” Kelly wrote. “However, after bungling the relationship with Rafael Devers, what chief baseball officer Craig Breslow really needs to land this offseason is a middle-of-the-order bat. Free agents like Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso probably fit that bill better than Bregman.”

“If the Red Sox are able to sign either Schwarber or Alonso—on top of already having traded for Sonny Gray—they’ll be a trendy World Series pick next spring.”

Kelly’s analysis was somewhat original, mostly because it’s very rare to see a Red Sox offseason take not featuring the premise that Bregman should absolutely be re-signed.

Most Red Sox observers want some combination of Bregman plus Alonso, Schwarber (or other impact bat). It remains to be seen how realistic a desire that is.

Regardless, it’s obvious that Boston isn’t afraid to be aggressive when it comes to making moves. The Red Sox have been in the offseason headlines as much as any other franchise in MLB since the World Series ended. CBO Craig Breslow hasn’t been wasting time or hesitating as he looks to improve the club for 2026.