The Red Sox have finished last in three of the last four seasons. The primary reason for the team’s weaknesss has been the pitching staff, namely the starting rotation. As a result of that, fans went into this offseason dreaming of Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Jordan Montomery in the free agent market, or Dylan Cease on the trade market. Based on Breslow’s comments, none of those things seem close to happening.
Breslow and new pitching coach Andrew Bailey were brought in, in part, because of their ability to implement systems to help guys develop. Given that the Sox don’t appear willing to spend at the top of the market or trade for a frontline starter, that internal development is going to be key, because it’s basically all the team has at this point.
This conversation probably quickly bleeds into the overall direction of the club,” Breslow said, “and I don’t think it makes a ton of sense to give up some of our prospects for pitchers that don’t also come with a ton of control, just given the emergence of this young core around who we intend to build.” So, yeah, the team won’t be trading for starting pitchers like Dylan Cease or Corbin Burnes. The team also clearly isn’t looking to fully invest in 2024 and this season could end up just like the last one did.
