Coming off their first postseason appearance in four years, the Boston Red Sox are heading into a pivotal offseason. While they showed plenty of promise this year and took a major step forward with their young core, they still have several holes to fill on their roster — especially if All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman opts out of his contract.
While the Red Sox may look to be aggressive this winter by trading some of their prospects and splurging on a marquee free agent or two, at least one analyst expects the team to have a quieter offseason.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield wrote on Sunday that he thinks Boston “will play it safe and bring back a similar roster, starting with re-signing Bregman.”
Schoenfield doesn’t see the Red Sox making many splashy moves, however. He believes they will move Marcelo Mayer to second base if Bregman returns and either bring back Lucas Giolito or sign Merrill Kelly, Framber Valdez or Shane Bieber to shore up their rotation.
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He sees them potentially trading from their outfield/position player depth as well, but isn’t predicting a blockbuster trade for a starting pitcher or a big free agent signing beyond retaining Bregman.
If Schoenfield’s predictions come true and Boston takes a more conservative approach this winter, that will likely be disappointing to many Red Sox fans. While the team was good enough to make the playoffs, it wasn’t talented enough to make it out of the first round and needs more help if it wants to be a serious World Series contender.
While his two trade deadlines have been relatively quiet so far, Craig Breslow made several major additions last winter by signing Bregman and trading for Garrett Crochet, significantly upgrading the roster. Boston fans are hoping for him to make some similarly impactful moves this offseason, but Schoenfield isn’t as optimistic.
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