The Red Sox may not yet be completely done with their offseason, as Sean McAdam of MassLive reports that the club remains interested in improving their left-handed bullpen depth before the season begins. McAdam adds that Boston intends to have scouts monitoring players in other organizations during camp as they conduct their search.
That the Red Sox might want addition left-handed bullpen help isn’t exactly a shock. The team is incredibly deep in right-handed bullpen options, with Garrett Whitlock, Justin Slaten, Greg Weissert, and Zack Kelly all more or less already assured of roles and a plethora of non-roster invitees including Vinny Nittoli, Kyle Keller, Osvaldo Bido, and Hobie Harris. From the left side, however, Boston has just three credible options: Aroldis Chapman, Jovani Moran, and Tyler Samaniego. Chapman, of course, is locked into the closer role. That leaves only Moran and Samaniego as an option to serve as a matchup lefty prior to the ninth inning. Moran has just four innings of work at the big league level over the past two years, and Samaniego has yet to make his big league debut.
Sensible as it would be for the team to look to add more lefty bullpen help, the Red Sox seem committed to doing so only on their terms. McAdam notes that the club has made clear neither of the team’s top left-handed pitching prospects, Payton Tolle and Connelly Early, will be considered for moves into the big league bullpen. Both Tolle and Early are currently squeezed out of Boston’s deep rotation on paper, but it’s not hard to see why the team might prefer to have them stay stretched out at Triple-A, where they won’t need to adapt to a new role and won’t garner big league service time.
Likewise, McAdam indicates that the team doesn’t have much interest in adding a free agent on a major league contract at this point. Experienced, big league caliber southpaws including veteran Danny Coulombe and Jalen Beeks remain available in free agency, but McAdam suggests that those free agents are currently holding out for big league deals. Perhaps that stance could change in the coming weeks as Spring Training drags on, but for now that seems to leave the Red Sox scouting for waiver claims and trade additions.
Few clubs are going to willingly surrender relief depth at this point in the calendar given the possibility of injuries in their own bullpen before Opening Day. With that being said, there are some options who could plausibly be available. Ryan Borucki (White Sox), Cionel Perez (Nationals), Tayler Saucedo (Angels), Cam Booser (Rays), and Genesis Cabrera (Phillies) are among the notable non-roster invitees in other camps this spring who might be unable to secure a spot with their current club. Meanwhile, Tyler Gilbert (White Sox) and Ryan Rolison (Cubs) are among the 40-man lefties who are either out of options or could otherwise be squeezed out of their team’s roster at some point this spring.
One other possibility worth giving a particular mention to is Cardinals lefty JoJo Romero. Romero has been a known trade candidate all throughout the offseason, and while at this point he appears to be the favorite to serve as St. Louis’s closer in 2026, the rebuilding Cardinals have traded every other pending free agent from their 2025 roster this winter except for the southpaw. It certainly stands to reason that president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom would part ways with Romero in the right deal, and successful trades of both Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras from St. Louis to Boston earlier this winter show that Bloom and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow are certainly comfortable working with each other.
Call up the cardinals for trade number 3.
This is similar to if Boston trades an outfielder.One of them gets hurt,people will clamor for a trade to replace the injured guy.People got mad at Devers for not doing what’s best for team.They want to trade a starting caliber outfielder.If they are team oriented,they will be ready for their chance.Injuries always happen.
I would have already picked up Romero if I were the Reds…or anyone else.
It depends on the asking. I’m thinking a waiver pick up at the end of spring training as otherwise a deal would likely have already occurred. Hopefully, Chapman stays healthy as he has mostly been during his career. The problem I see is how can he duplicate last year? He and Whitlock had amazing seasons in 25 and I’m seeing regression. Tolle to me is a closer in waiting despite the talk otherwise.
I think Tolle is a frontline starter.
dewey – Two things …..
One, the Red Sox saying neither Early nor Tolle will go to the bullpen is worthless information. 90% of what they say turns out to be false, can never rely on it.
Two, if the Sox are serious about contending this year then Tolle should be in the BP. They have 7 starters not including Tolle, Early, Bennett or Uberstine.
But based on the Red Sox propensity for manipulating service time, I wouldn’t be surprised if either or both of Early and Tolle will begin the season in the minors and either Crawford or Sandoval takes the 5th spot in the rotation. All the talk about it being a competition is total crap, the Red Sox already know who they plan to keep and only a disastrous ST could change that.
Maybe they shouldn’t have given away some decent LHP BP arms for nothing earlier this off-season? Guys like Bernardino, Chris Murphy, and I think one more.
Yeah I thought the same. Murphy has options
Murphy to me is the one to regret but he’s always been hurt and staying on the field is the first priority.
Joemo:
👎
Bob – It’s just the usual, the Red Sox not having a plan.
They probably figured it’s easy to pick up a reliever during the offseason, but they weren’t able to find one willing to accept a lowball offer as the reliever market took off early in the offseason.
Why not re-sign Justin Wilson? He’s still a free agent, and wasn’t horrible last year for the Red Sox. Danny Coulombe is still around too.
This is the obvious answer.
As of now, Wilson is not signing unless he gets ‘what I’m worth’, as he has said. Not sure what that means, but guessing he wants more than the 2.55mil he made last season.
Not really stated is I think though they’re looking to upgrade, they like some of the options they have in camp like T.J. Sikkema, Jeremy Wu-Yelland, and Alex Gamboa. Enough so that they don’t want to guarantee an iffy guy like Beeks a major league deal. For bullpen arms guys come out of the woodwork to be good all the time and guys with strong MLB experience can fall off especially if they’re older.
DO they like those guys?
I like Wu-Yelland, but he hasn’t pitched above double-A, he was left unprotected in the rule 5 draft and they would need to open a 40-man spot to add him. I think he’s a long shot.
Gamboa failed in AAA each of the past 3 years and looked pretty average in the KBO. Sikkema doesn’t throw hard – he’s a bit more interesting as he hasn’t had much bullpen exposure, but both of these guys were minor league free agents for a reason.
$4 million?
@mlb1225
With you raising the bar to “wasn’t horrible last year”, I’m sure you will be satisfied with whoever they acqure.
Well I think hi 3.35 ERA and 2.95 FIP are actually pretty good. I just didn’t know what Red Sox fans thought.
Eh, not in love with him. Wouldn’t be mad to have him back but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen. He got teed off on several times down the stretch and wasn’t super reliable in general in tight spots. I get we’re talking about a potential last guy in the bullpen or taxiing between Boston and Wooster here so it’s not gonna be anybody truly lights out, but if he’s asking for a raise I’d much rather go after a younger guy like Jalen Beeks who is capable of giving you a couple innings when he’s out there.
mlb – Red Sox Nation thought Wilson is an obese 38-year-old who sucked in the second half, and we are grateful he pitched so well in the first half to earn his contract.
There’s a reason he is still unsigned.
Dirty – If only the Red Sox had a solid LHR like Sean Newcomb, right?
Yeah, I was wrong about Newcomb. I wrote him off as another classic Sox dumpster dive too early and didn’t think he’d hold up an entire season, but yes indeed it would be nice to have him in the fold.
He was awful in Boston.
bass – Agreed, the Red Sox never would have been able to fix him.
But now that the Athletics fixed him, he could help the Sox if they just leave him alone.
Fever – let’s be fair, last winter when the red Sox signed Newcomb, many (most) here were arguing of it being a dumpster signing and complaining about him.
mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/red-sox-sign-sean-newco…
Having seen how some of the red Sox target have gone on to better things, tells me two things:
1) at the breslow level, his strategy is good, his decision making on guys to work with is sound.
2) the coaching and development staff for Boston which for decades was hitter developing focused, pitcher buying has a ways to go.
If breslow can get that second half humming over time, to be more cleveland/milwaukee/Tampa like, look out MLB.
And, I would be shocked if there weren’t periodic meetings after some of these guys finished coming back to life elsewhere that the red sox were askong themselves, OK, what piece of the puzzle were we missing, what do we need an assistant coach that specialized in they had and we didnt which finished what we started.
GaSox – I’m glad you brought this up. The reason people get frustrated is because the 3 B’s are supposed to be pitching experts, but their track record on “fixing” pitchers is very poor.
I’m sure you’ve seen the list that has been posted here a few times, of all the pitchers who sucked with the Red Sox and then found success immediately after leaving them. If you were to pull together the data, I’m certain Breslow’s record of actually fixing pitchers is among the lowest percentage in MLB. Tampa, San Diego, Milwaukee and Atlanta are just a few of the organizations that are far better at fixing pitchers than the Sox.
So while I personally don’t care about the Sox leading MLB in dumpster diving, I would be much more supportive of it if the Sox were actually able to benefit from it more than just once every dozen dives.
He’s 39 years old and was in my opinion kind of a fluke performer last year to begin with. Think it’s best to let another team gamble there. Maybe he does well.
I don’t think “wasn’t horrible” is their goal
What’s Tony Fossas up to?
He pitched for 7 clubs and was never traded.
Neat!
Is Bill Lee leaving the Bananas?
Bill Lee IS bananas.
Bananas are delicious. Especially my mom’s banana bread.
enjoy- or Tommy Burgmeier
Burgy is only 82 years old!
Aaarrggh! Fossas was an arsonist with the M’s in 98.
They had Brennan Bernadino and traded him for a bag of marbles.
They badly needed to open a roster spot at the time and didn’t have a better (worse) option. Would be nice to have him now though.
This is 20/20 hindsight to some degree, but one of those 40-man trades netted someone who required a 40-man spot and was later DFA’d before camp began (Tristen Gray). I would love Bernardino back though. Chronically underappreciated and someone they really ran through the usage grinder. Still had an option left, as well.
I think they should aim higher than Bernardino and Murphy for LH relief and hopefully they are. Bernardino’s SO9 and BB9 have been going in the wrong direction for 3 straight years. He was up to 4.5 BB9 and down to 7.5 SO9 last season. Murphy walked more than 5 per 9 IP last season in MLB and AAA
I don’t disagree, I don’t think either of those pitchers is a first lefty out of the pen – but it’s far from clear that there is a *second* lefty out of the pen there in camp, and it would be nice to have one in the pocket. But they’ll figure it out.
all in the suit that you wear
1 day ago
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I think this played a key role in the decision against Bernardino.
His strikeout rate dropped from 26.9% in 2023 to 19.2% in 2025; his walk rate increased from 8.3% in 2023 to 11.6% in 2025, with a .255 BABIP in 2025.
Murphy stats:
2023 – %K 23.1, %BB 8.0, BABIP .326
2025 – %K 20.3, %BB 13.5, BABIP .191, ERA 3.12, FIP 5.07
Murphy also got incredibly lucky in 2025.
These are definitely not the type of left-handed relievers who will help the Red Sox in high-leverage situations in 2026.
Romero is good and wont cost a lot. Get it done.
He’s decent and there’s plenty of teams that could use him. Meanwhile the Cardinals would be happy to trade him. So it seems he would cost a fair bit. If he’s decent as a closer then the Cardinals could get a big return at the deadline.
He’s supposed to have 6m surplus value, someone said, on BTV.
Whats that, a 45FV prospect?
That would be a top 13 prospect for the Red Sox. Giving that up for a guy who would be a marginal upgrade from Bernardino wouldn’t be smart. Especially when he only has 1 year of team control and there are still free agents who are as good, or better, while possibly being cheaper.
The Cardinals have an abundance of LH pitchers in camp.
Tolle has the makeup to be a dominant reliever. Jake Bennett could be helpful out of the pen at some point this season, too.
They’re not bullpen options. Bennett has limited time pitching in AA and is still looked at as a starting pitcher while Tolle is one of the top starting pitching prospects in baseball. The theoretical short term benefit isn’t worth the long term cost.
WC – plenty of pitchers have been moved to the bullpen early in their careers and they ended up being good SP.
Sale, Crochet, Derek Lowe, and I’m sure many others have done it successfully.
Unless they think that Tolle can magically develop the secondaries needed to be a successful starter this year, then he gains much more by being on the MLB roster, working with the MLB staff, and being able to pick the brains of the MLB players.
He can do all of those things in spring training or throughout the season even – the Red Sox coaching staff works with the AAA guys even if they aren’t in the majors. Cora and his team stay involved with everyone on the 40 and many who aren’t.
Just because players have started in the bullpen before doesn’t mean it’s a smart thing to do. Crochet would have netted them FAR more in return if he had more than 2 years on control remaining. Following stupid moves by a poorly run organization isn’t what they should be doing.
Lowe failed for 2 years as a starter before moving to the bullpen full-time for the next 3. If Tolle doesn’t figure it out in 2026 or 2027, then it makes sense to take this route, but to do it now would be to waste control of a player who may be a future TOR pitcher.
Tolle can try out the bullpen in October
I think Tille ends up pitching some important bullpen innings down the stretch. It can help limit his innings and get the most out of him while he develops his secondary pitches more
I like your thinking Meow !! Giving him bullpen duty at the end of the season, helps him and the team.
I don’t know why JoeMo has the worst takes ever. Seems like he’s off base with every thought?
I think, in the end, it is going to be an internal solution. Boston will not add salary at this point, and the trade market is not all that appealing. My guess is it will be J. Bennett.
They had a lot of LH depth, then they let them all go. Surprised Wilson and Coulombe haven’t signed yet, either on a minor league deal would be good.
And Bido is in Yankees camp, not Red Sox camp
Both won’t sign minor league deals.
Maybe they shouldn’t have traded away all of their lefty relievers. Bernardino and Murphy aren’t elite, but were both mostly serviceable for them last season. Apparently they wanted to use those roster spots for some of their younger guys, but it still seems silly to me that they traded away all of their lefty relief options (including Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan in the Durbin trade) and now, with spring training here, Breslow is saying they need lefty relievers.
It’s similar to how they let Refsnyder walk and then a week later Breslow says they need a right handed hitting outfielder to compliment their all lefty hitting OF. You had the perfect platoon lefty masher and could have easily retained him for about $8 million.
I was okay letting both BB and CM go at the time, though that was made under the now false assumption they’d be quickly replaced. Always felt Bernardino was one who got extremely lucky whenever he pitched. Murphy was alright until the series in August against KC at Fenway, he just seemed to lose all grasp of where the ball was going for the rest of the year.
That logic made sense in November and December when you had months to fix the problem, now it makes a lot less sense. Whatever you do, whoever you get, you’re going to have to overpay (which their computer overlord will hate and thus they won’t do) to add, especially via trade. Hope they do something, expecting precisely squat.
8 million is far too much for Refsnyder and Benardino and Murphy are average at best.
Refsnyder had an OPS of like .950 against left handed pitching last year. He is easily worth $8 million or so on just a one year contract.
Then why didn’t he get it?
He signed for 6.
You’d go 2M a year over what anyone else would pay? Odd choice.
Yes, if I were Breslow I would have given him one year at $8 million. Totally worth what he provides, in addition to being a good veteran leader type in the clubhouse.
Well, that would have been incredibly stupid, as no GM in MLB felt Refsnyder was worith 8M. and you would have been overpaying by like 30 percent.
Not sure what you’re missing here,
JoJo Romero would be a fantastic addition to the Red Sox bullpen – no doubt about that. And Boston and St. Louis seem to respect each other when it comes to making deals. Don’t know what the Red Sox have that the Cardinals would want, though from what I’ve read the Cardinals would love to get a right-handed hitting outfielder. Could the Cards and Red Sox swap JoJo Romero for a right-handed outfielder?
More minor league depth. It’s a rebuild, the more building blocks the better.
Maybe they will eventually figure out that Tolle doesn’t have enough pitches to be an effective starter and will be a dominant Lefty Reliever when he can throw max Velocity 1 inning at a time.
Drew Pomeranz 2.0
Cooper – That is the correct answer, but they will likely let him rot in AAA until another year of team control is assured.
or maybe they’ll give a guy who didn’t start pitching full time until his last year a college a cair chance to learn secondaries before giving up on him. as a starter.
Yoooooo, what up my guys!?! Got southpaw relievers growing on the outfield walls down here, give us a shout!!! Can’t see us moving Morejon or JP Sears… but one of Wandy, Matsui (NTC), Omar Cruz or your old friend Kyle Hart could be available! (All on 40 Man)
IT’S A RELIEVER SALE! ALL SALES FINAL, ONLY THROUFH THIS WEEKEND!
*Preller waits by the phone*
Meanwhile Chaim waves by, “We got one, too!”
Obtain the guy the Cardinals DFAd. He’s a lefty reliever, and shouldn’t even cost six figures, or a live human being.
Zak Kent isn’t a left-hander.
Yes. You’re right. I was wrong.
Nonetheless, MLB quality is better than “handedness”.
Eh, sometimes accurate seems apropos.
These stories seem really silly. Are the front offices of baseball teams spending all their time on MLBTR to find out what’s going on?
Hey Bob! The Red Sox are looking for lefty relievers. Let’s give them a call.
The 30 GMs talk more than you might think… and if anybody in the FO is looking here it’s just fringe pseudo-staffers who are passing time on the clock!
Oh, I suspect they talk a lot, they just don’t wait to see what MLBTR says. And things will really start to heat up as the players show up for spring training. Everybody’s watching everybody.
The players have already shown up.
LET’S GO NON-ROSTER INVITEES!
Isaac Paredes & Bryan King for Jarren Duran
I will pass.
When did Bido become a Sox NRI?
From what I can tell, there is confusion over Osvaldos. Osvaldo Bido is on NYY. Osvaldo Berrios is in the Sox minors.
Call up Alan Embree…..
No need to call Embree when Breslow is aleeady signed!
Interested in Dietrich Enns?
That sounds like a disease (is milky white a symptom?).
Seems like a solid reliever. Orioles recently signed him to a 1+1 contract though, so he would have to approve a deal.
Among teams with great bullpen depth, the Padres might be willing to trade Wandy Peralta. What would the Red Sox have to give up to get a LH reliever that had a 3.14 ERA last season?
Maybe as part of a bigger trade that includes Duran? Peralta, Laureano, Campusano and a lottery ticket like 2025 Int’l free agent signing SS Deivid Coronil for Duran and Wong? Who says no to that deal?
Hey Skip! The Sox say no, if only to propagate their belief that they could get more.
Gwynning, I am pretty sure from your comments and avatar that you are a Padres fan, so what do you think would be a fair trade to get the Peralta to the Red Sox and Duran to the Padres?
Correct good sir, and I am of the personal belief that you are *close* with your initial salvo. Maybe some Padre pesos going back helps the balancing act? Pay down Wandy’s ’26?
I don’t think Wandy Peralta for Jarren Duran is a fair trade.
But what about Peralta, Campusano, Laureano, prospect SS Deivid Coronil and money?
I would call that an overpay. Some Red Sox fans would call that a good roster, some underpay. And they don’t need outfielders.
Laureano (in theory) just a throw-in to replace Duran in ’26. I thought Skip was “close” with this offer. Cheers! 🍻
They have an outfield logjam.
Subtract Laureano and add money (pay off Wandy?) and there’s a rough structure to a deal! Imo o/c
Yesterday Breslow said that the Red Sox were still looking for a RHB and Laureano is a good bat that can play all 3 OF positions. This article says they want a LH reliever. I was trying to find a trade package that filled the need for both coming from a team that had a surplus of relievers.
As someone noted below, Peralta can opt out after 2026, so maybe a condition of the trade would be Peralta opting in for 2027 and the Padres throwing in some cash or a prospect closer too the majors.
Skip’s why would the Red Sox do that trade? Wandy can opt out of his contract so he has to be looked at as a one year prospect. Campusano is not good has very little value now and why would they trade for Laureano? They are trying to lessen the outfield crunch not trade an outfielder and bring in another.
No Duran is going to cost you Padres fans, he’ll cost you Mason Miller at least. Duran has three years control and he can be a game changer. Breslow has already shown he values Duran very highly. It’s unlikely the Padres have the trade pieces that Boston would want for an equitable Duran trade.
“One year player not prospect”
“he’ll cost you Mason Miller at least.”
Other way around.
Astros I think you underestimate Jarren Duran. The guy is really good he’s a true game changer. He’s probably going to hit you 20 homers along with double digits in triples. His defense is probably well above average in a park he can just go get it he’s showing no signs of slowing down. He had a down year last year and was still worth what 3.9 fwar and 4.7 bwar. Put him in outfield where he can be aggressive and just go get it and his defense plays much better. He’s wasted in left field for the Red Sox but Rafaela is arguably the best center fielder in baseball so Duran is relegated to left and DH with Boston.
Campusano has been a bust so far and is really bad defensively so he better hit because he’s probably not a catcher and he certainly isn’t going to catch for Boston that is going to want a good defensive catcher with the pitching they have. He’s a throw in piece for Duran and until he shows he can actually hit big league pitching he’s a AAAA player.
Well he’s not worth Miller+. And he’s not worth a top 5 MLB prospect.
I think he is and more importantly so does Breslow. Breslow wanted Cole Ragans from KC for Duran that’s how he’s valued. They aren’t trading Duran and I don’t think the Padres have the pieces to get Duran if they aren’t willing to trade Miller. Just like Paredes alone wasn’t enough to get Duran he’s a very valuable and obviously underrated player by a lot of people.
You could get Miller based on a package headlined by Duran and Tolle/Early. The Royals I believe declined Ragans for Early, so it’s obvious Breslow is overvaluing Duran. I may be underrating him, but you are clearly overvaluing him and so is Breslow.
Padres would love that and no way that happens. When it’s all said and done Miller is a reliever and that’s where he wants to stay. Duran and Early/Tolle is a ridiculous overpay. Once again I don’t think you value Duran correctly but thankfully Breslow does so he will hit in the three hole in Boston and rotate in the outfield defensively. He will probably play 3 or 4 times a week defensively and DH the rest.
The Royals turned down a trade of Duran and Early for Ragans and a prospect at the Winter Meetings. The offer came from the Red Sox, not from the Royals.
Mason Miller and JP Sears got the A’s a top 5 prospect in all of MLB (Leo De Vries), and 3 quality prospects. Duran and Tolle is not getting that haul, and JP Sears did make the return a bit bigger, but not by much. You are undervaluing Miller.
“Campusano is not good…”
He just destroyed AAA pitching to lead the world in counting stats last year… but ok.
Gwynning
1 day ago
“Campusano is not good…”
He just destroyed AAA pitching to lead the world in counting stats last year… but ok.
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No matter how much you crush pitchers in Triple-A, Campusano can’t do it in the Major Leagues, another overrated catcher with terrible defense.
Bobby Dalbec also crushed pitchers in Triple-A.
The Red Sox need a good LH reliever and Peralta is a good one. Peralta could have opted out of 2025 and 2026 and didn’t. Obviously Peralta was not the whole of that trade proposal. As of yesterday Breslow said the Red Sox are still looking for a RHB.
I am not a Padres fan. Far from it. I am a student of the game and was asking what it would take to get a trade done.
Red Sox fans are saying Duran will not start in the OF at all. If he won’t start, then he won’t cost anything close to Mason Miller. Red Sox fans are saying that Abreu has more value than Duran. If that is the case then what I outlined may be a vast overpay.
Duran will rotate in the outfield it’s not like he can’t play in the outfield defensively he’s probably best suited for center where he can just go get it and not left in Fenway. He would be fine in left in San Diego where he can go get it. The reality is the Red Sox have 4 really good outfielders and the one who isn’t playing will rotate through the DH. Right now Duran is going to be the three hole hitter in front of Contreras. He’s really a valuable player that brings value with his hitting, legs, and glove especially in the right field. He’s ultra aggressive and will turn singles into doubles and doubles into triples wherever he plays. The Red Sox aren’t going to trade him unless they must and it won’t be before close to the deadline unless someone else sees the 15 war player over the last three years. He’s a sum of the parts kind of player and he’s going to cost a ton with three years of control left. I don’t think the Padres match up well on a Duran trade he’s not the kind of guy you trade for a reliever unless it’s an elite reliever. The Padres just don’t have the trade-able guys to get Duran, they just don’t match up well.
“ I meant especially in center field”. That’s his best defensive position.
Breslow said yesterday that he saw Yoshida getting the majority of the PA at DH. That may just be a PR move to try to get some team to trade for him, much like the statement by Cora that Abreu would no longer be platooned.
If Duran is the #3 hitter, is Anthony on the bench? Will Abreu be traded instead of Duran?
Yoshida is an expensive pinch hitter. The lineup is Anthony, Story, Duran, Contreras, Abreu, Durbin, I think it will be Mayer, Narvaez and Rafaela. That’s barring injuries. They will cycle the guys defensively but unless there are no injuries Yoshida may DH when Rafaela gets a rest and Duran plays center but I doubt he DH’s more than once or twice a week. The real problem is what to do if and when Casas comes back because he can be real difference maker offensively. Yoshida is a poor fit on this team barring injuries. I didn’t hear Breslow say anything but that Yoshida will compete for time at DH and in the outfield but the reality is he’s probably an expensive pinch hitter.
Skip’s Fungo
1 day ago
Maybe as part of a bigger trade that includes Duran? Peralta, Laureano, Campusano and a lottery ticket like 2025 Int’l free agent signing SS Deivid Coronil for Duran and Wong? Who says no to that deal?
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The Red Sox won’t trade Duran, much less a reliever.
I think the only way they’ll trade Duran is if the Red Sox aren’t in the playoff race.
I take it you are in the front office for the Red Sox?
Skip’s Fungo
6 minutes ago
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Let’s think about it together.
The Red Sox have Narvy as their starting catcher, Wong as a backup and Garcia is developing in Double-A.
In the outfield, they have golden glovers – Rafaela, Abreu plus Anthony.
In the bullpen, Chapman, Whitlock, Weissert, Slaten, they can use both the left-handed Sandoval.
Overrated catcher Campusano with terrible defense, a PED outfielder in Laureano and Peralta on par with Weissert.
Why would the Red Sox trade Duran for these players?
No kidding lol
They already have him, it’s Patrick Sandoval.
Why didn’t they bring back Justin Wilson?
Wilson wants more money than what he’s been offered in order to keep pitching.
If they felt they could use Sandoval as a late inning pitcher out of the pen, he would be working out as a reliever now,
Red Sox have Chapman and Whitlock at the back of the bullpen and Whitlock handles lefties. He was excellent against both but actually handled lefties a little better. I think Sandoval most likely starts in the pen as multi inning reliever at some point they may make a trade for a another lefty but with Chapman and Whitlock both elite at the back end of pen at getting lefties out throw in Moran and Sandoval I think they will be fine with the three in house lefties they have.
I am responding to the article which says that Breslow wants to add a LH reliever. Its apparent you have different thoughts than Breslow, but he makes the decisions, Sandoval is working out as a starter in spring training, not a reliever. If Breslow felt that Sandoval or Moran or Slaten or anyone else on the roster was the answer as a late game LH reliever why would he be looking to add a LH reliever?
Breslow can say what he wants but the reality is there are 8 spots for relievers on the Red Sox and he didn’t say anything about adding a late game lefty. The Red Sox have one of those. Oh I’m sure he will listen and look to add a lefty if the right situation came up but Sandoval has no options they aren’t going to dfa him they might and trade him. More likely after a rehab assignment he will go to the pen and be a lefty reliever who can go multiple innings. The pen, barring injuries, is already set it’s Chapman, Whitlock, Slaten, Weissert, Moran, Kelly, Sandoval, and I think they will probably go with Watson since the have to carry him or return him to Oakland. Unless they trade Sandoval he’s going to be a lefty out of the pen.
Skip’s Fungo
7 hours ago
If Breslow felt that Sandoval or Moran or Slaten or anyone else on the roster was the answer as a late game LH reliever why would he be looking to add a LH reliever?
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Slaten right-handed reliever
If all the starting pitchers are healthy on Opening Day, their starting lineup will look like this: (Crochet, Suarez, Gray, Bello, Early/Oviedo), Tolle,Crawford.
I have a feeling Early will win the fifth spot in spring training.
Sandoval could win the fifth spot, if he looks great in spring training and is better than Early, Oviedo, and Bello.
Keep in mind that Sandoval is returning from Tommy John and may be limited in pitching.
He can be a long man if needed.
The Red Sox don’t need a reliable late-inning reliever.
They need a reliable sixth- or seventh-inning reliever in emergency situations when Whitlock can’t be called upon.
If Slaten returns to his 2024 numbers, the Red Sox will be fine with the bullpen.
I don’t think you understand that Breslow makes those decisions, not you.
According to people much closer to the team than you or I, he is looking for a LH reliever.
If the pen was set, he would not be looking for a LH reliever.
The article says he will trade for a LH reliever.
Breslow said that Oviedo will have a spot in the rotation. The others are depth pieces to step in in case of injury or other issues.
Sandoval can be placed on the IL and sent for a rehab assignment for a month. That is far more likely from Breslow’s comments than to be converted to the pen.
The article referenced by this piece says that Breslow will trade for a LH reliever.
If Breslow thought the pen was fine, he would not be looking for a LH reliever.
Justin Slaten should be healthy this year as well he gets lefties out better than righties when healthy as well.
Sounds like the NEED Aaron Bummer!
Wandy Peralta and Matsui are available
I think I have seen people on here saying that Matsui has a full NTC. I have not checked that though.
Been saying this all winter, that there’s no quality lefty reliever in the pen beyond Chapman. Jovani Moran isn’t very good. It’s an obvious hole
Moran has high end stuff. If he can keep with the control improvements he showed last season in triple-A (1.63 BB/9) then he should be pretty good. But he’s not enough on his own.
Save you money for SKUBAL He means multiple rings. Go ahead get some lefty RP, but all your focus until Skubal signs somewhere, THIS NEEDS Continous monitoring be it before or during the season, or next offseason, SKUBAL MUST BE IN BOSTON sealing a Dynasty
Starting point, then work in lottery tickets to either side, to balance it out.
Milwaukee sends Ashby and Frelick to Boston.
Boston sends Duran to Milwaukee.
Love Refsnyder but definitely not worth that price. Hes a platoon and cant field
How much do you want to spend on a guy who’s going to pitch every third game for an inning? I think they find the solution with what they have.
Either that, or, theres going to be a plethora of guys cut through spring training, or, who will have upward mobility clauses giving you access to them.
But based on the Red Sox propensity for manipulating service time, I wouldn’t be surprised if either or both of Early and Tolle will begin the season in the minors and either Crawford or Sandoval takes the 5th spot in the rotation.
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Another fantasy Fever Pitch Guy.
Earley showed very well in September 2025; if he looks great in spring training, he’ll be in the starting rotation.
Tolle needs to develop his secondary pitches, so he’ll likely start the year in Triple-A.
There’s no pressing need to rush Tolle.
He has the potential to become a front-row pitcher.
I don’t see any timing manipulation here.
On paper, the bullpen currently looks like this:
Closer – Chapman, 8Inn – Whitlock, 7Inn – Weissert, Slaten, 6Inn – Kelly, Moran, and possibly Crawford and Sandoval, given their injury histories and limited workloads.
I think there will be surprises in the bullpen depending on how the pitchers who aren’t on the 40-man roster perform in spring training.
Fever Pitch Guy
22 hours ago
Bob – It’s just the usual, the Red Sox not having a plan.
They probably figured it’s easy to pick up a reliever during the offseason, but they weren’t able to find one willing to accept a lowball offer as the reliever market took off early in the offseason.
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I know you won’t read this because you turned off the sound for me, but maybe you will read it when you turn it on and then turn the sound down again.
In two years, Breslow has strengthened the starting rotation, improved the bullpen, improved first base, and improved the overall infield defense compared to 2025.
The team as a whole has improved compared to last season.
And you claim the Red Sox don’t have a plan.
You complain here every season, no matter what steps the Red Sox management takes.
By the way, how’s your friend KD17 or whatever his name is? He’s been changing accounts like a glove here.
He was also complaining last year, just like you.
He predicted 79 wins for the Red Sox last season, but now he’s nowhere to be seen.
I wonder how you will justify it when this team performs well this season.
They don’t have a plan because they haven’t shown you the plan ahaha.