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Details On Corbin Burnes Contract

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The Diamondbacks finalized their shocking six-year free agent deal with Corbin Burnes on Monday. The former Cy Young winner signed a $210MM contract, though deferrals in the $60MM range were known to have knocked down the net present value to an extent.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports the deal’s specific breakdown. The contract officially contains $64MM in deferred money. Burnes will collect a $10MM signing bonus up front, which was first reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. $10MM of his $30MM salaries over the next two seasons will be deferred. If he does not trigger an opt-out clause after the ’26 season, he’d be due $35MM annually between 2027-30. $11MM of those salaries will be deferred. According to Heyman, the contract comes with a net present value of roughly $193.76MM.

Burnes will be able to opt out with four years and $140MM remaining. Whether he does so will determine when he receives the deferred money. According to the Associated Press, Burnes would be owed either $10MM or $11MM installments between 2031-36 if he does not trigger the out clause. If he does opt out, he’d receive a pair of $10MM payments after the 2027 and ’28 seasons. (There’d only be $20MM in deferrals if he opts out after two years.) Burnes has full no-trade rights for the first two years. That would drop to a 14-team no-trade list for the final four seasons if he doesn’t opt out, per the AP.

Arizona now has a projected rotation featuring Burnes, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt and Eduardo Rodriguez. Righty Ryne Nelson has pitched well enough to hold a rotation job as well, so the Snakes could consider a six-man starting staff to open the year. Even that wouldn’t leave room for Jordan Montgomery, whose $22.5MM salary the D-Backs would be happy to offload. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported shortly after the Burnes agreement that the Snakes were not on the verge of any rotation trades. That’ll remain a major storyline for the club over the next couple months.

Rockies Hire Scott Oberg As Pitching Coordinator

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The Rockies are hiring former reliever Scott Oberg as a minor league pitching coordinator, reports Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. It’s the first full-time instructional position for the 34-year-old since his retirement as a player in 2023.

Oberg has been something of an unofficial coaching presence in Colorado for a couple seasons. He has worked as a part-time consultant for the team’s minor league affiliates and their MLB staff. That served as a trial run for what was always envisioned as a larger coaching or player development role in the long term.

The relationship between the Rockies and Oberg stretches well beyond a decade. Colorado drafted him out of UCONN in the 15th round in 2012. It was an excellent pick, as the righty reached the majors three years later and spent a half-decade in the Colorado ’pen. He posted consecutive sub-3.00 ERA seasons in 2018 and ’19 and was a key high-leverage piece for skipper Bud Black.

Colorado signed Oberg to a $13MM extension over the 2019-20 offseason. Unfortunately, his playing career would come to a close before he could throw another MLB pitch. Recurring blood clots and thoracic outlet syndrome in his throwing arm made it impossible for Oberg to play again. He worked in Colorado’s scouting department to provide some off-field value over the life of that contract. He announced his retirement when it expired.

Saunders notes that Oberg has earned a master’s degree in sports management from Georgetown since retiring as a player. Given his strong relationship with the Colorado front office and coaching staff, there’s a good chance he’ll move quickly up the team’s pitching development ranks in the next few seasons.

Brewers Acquire Grant Anderson

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The Rangers announced they’ve traded reliever Grant Anderson to the Brewers for minor league pitcher Mason Molina. Milwaukee designated left-hander Tyler Jay for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Texas had designated the 27-year-old Anderson for assignment earlier in the week when they finalized the Joc Pederson deal. The low-slot righty has made 49 MLB appearances for the Rangers as an up-and-down reliever. His major league work hasn’t been great, as he has allowed 6.35 earned runs per nine over 62 1/3 innings. Anderson’s respective strikeout (21.5%) and walk (8.8%) rates aren’t far off league average. He has had massive home run issues, though, giving up 16 longballs (2.31 per nine innings) in his major league career.

That hasn’t been as big a problem in the minors. Anderson didn’t allow a single homer over 27 2/3 Triple-A innings this year. He fanned 28.3% of minor league opponents and turned in a sub-3.00 ERA in the Pacific Coast League. Anderson has a 3.87 mark over parts of three seasons for the organization’s top affiliate in Round Rock.

Anderson still has a minor league option remaining, so Milwaukee can keep him at Triple-A Nashville for another season. The Brewers have Trevor Megill, Joel Payamps, Nick Mears and Jared Koenig locked into the Opening Day bullpen. Milwaukee could carry Rule 5 pick Connor Thomas in long relief. That’d only leave a couple ’pen spots up for grabs if everyone is healthy, so the flexibility afforded by the option is valuable.

Milwaukee acquired Jay from the Mets in July. The 30-year-old southpaw was limited to two MLB appearances after the deal. He tossed three scoreless innings with three walks and strikeouts apiece. Jay had pitched five times for New York earlier in the year, his first taste of big league action.

A former top 10 pick of the Twins, Jay has spent seven seasons in the minor leagues. He had a productive year in Triple-A between the New York and Milwaukee systems, combining for a 3.02 earned run average through 56 2/3 innings. He struck out a slightly below-average 20.5% of opponents while showing excellent control (5.1% walk rate). Milwaukee will trade Jay or put him on waivers within the next five days.

Molina, 21, was Milwaukee’s seventh-round pick last summer. The Arkansas product threw five scoreless innings in Low-A during his initial professional action. The 6’2″ lefty had turned in a 4.47 ERA over 15 appearances (13 starts) for the Razorbacks in his junior season. Baseball America wrote at the time of the draft that Molina’s 89-90 MPH fastball plays above its velocity because of its life at the top of the zone. Molina’s command is a work in progress. He’s a low minors developmental flier for the Rangers.

Padres, Moises Gomez Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Padres agreed to a minor league contract with Moisés Gómez last month, according to the MLB.com transaction log. The 26-year-old corner outfielder had been outrighted and released by the Cardinals last season.

Gómez is working to get to the big leagues for the first time. He seemed on track after hitting 39 homers in the minor leagues in 2022. That earned him a 40-man roster spot with St. Louis. Gómez spent the entire ’23 campaign on optional assignment to their Triple-A affiliate. He popped another 30 homers but hit .232 with a .293 on-base percentage. That wasn’t enough to crack the MLB roster. St. Louis sent him through outright waivers last February.

The righty-hitting outfielder again opened the season at the Triple-A level. He hit .208 and saw his power production evaporate, as he only managed three longballs in 45 games before being released. Gómez closed the season in the independent American Association. He has mashed in winter ball in his native Venezuela this offseason. Gómez is hitting .273/.396/.613 with 15 longballs in 48 winter ball games.

San Diego will give him an opportunity to rebound from his difficult past two seasons. Gómez has big power, hitting 127 homers in parts of nine minor league seasons between the Tampa Bay and St. Louis systems. That includes 49 longballs in fewer than 1000 Triple-A plate appearances, though he’s a .236/.303/.452 hitter at that level. He has punched out in nearly a third of his trips to the plate in Triple-A.

Where Can Astros Turn For A Left-Handed Outfielder?

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After last month’s Kyle Tucker trade, the outfield is the biggest question for the Astros. Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick are lined up to start in center and right field, respectively. Meyers is a defensive stalwart without much offensive upside. McCormick has been a very good hitter in the past, but he’s coming off the worst season of his career.

Left field is completely open. While Yordan Alvarez could get a few starts there, the Astros want to use him mostly as a designated hitter. Former top prospect Taylor Trammell, who started one major league game last season, is Houston’s projected left fielder at RosterResource. Trammell is coming off a strong season in Triple-A, but he’s 27 years old and has a .167/.270/.368 batting line over 359 MLB plate appearances. If not Trammell, utility player Mauricio Dubón would probably get the majority of the playing time. Houston still expects to compete for an AL West title. They’ll need to add at least one outfielder before Opening Day.

General manager Dana Brown has acknowledged as much. Houston is looking for a left-handed hitter, in particular, potentially allowing them to spell McCormick or Meyers. The Astros project narrowly above the competitive balance tax threshold and don’t seem likely to make a play for Anthony Santander. If they’re dealing with a tighter budget, where could they look?

Free Agency

Jurickson Profar: Profar might be out of their financial comfort zone as well. As of last month, the switch-hitting left fielder was looking for a deal of at least three years. He’s the best non-Santander outfielder available in free agency. Profar has had an up-and-down career but is coming off by far his best season. He hit .280/.380/.459 with 24 homers behind massively improved exit velocities. He’ll turn 32 in February, but the Astros have made three-year free agent commitments to much older hitters (i.e. José Abreu and Christian Walker). Profar is an ideal fit on paper, but the money could be an issue.

Alex Verdugo: For most of his Red Sox tenure, Verdugo was a capable if mercurial everyday player. He hit .281/.338/.424 across four seasons in Boston. The Sox traded him to the Yankees, who stuck with him as their regular left fielder amidst the worst season of his career. Verdugo finished the year with a .233/.291/.356 slash across 621 plate appearances. Almost all the positives came in the first month of the season. Verdugo carried a .267/.358/.446 line into May. He hit .225/.275/.336 over his final 501 plate appearances. Verdugo doesn’t turn 29 until May, so he’s a plausible rebound candidate, but that’d be less risky for a fringe contender than it is for a true win-now team like Houston. He’s likely looking at a one-year pillow deal, probably for less than the $10MM that Max Kepler received from Philadelphia.

Jesse Winker: Outside of Profar, Winker probably has the best offensive profile of this group. He hit .258/.366/.422 with 13 homers in 404 plate appearances against righty pitching last season. He’s a career .276/.379/.462 hitter with the platoon advantage. Winker isn’t a huge threat against lefties, but he can hit right-handers. The big drawback is the defensive profile. He’s a poor defender in left field who should primarily be a designated hitter. The Astros would either need to have him divide left field work with Alvarez or play Winker there regularly if they want to keep their superstar DH off his feet. Maybe they feel the Crawford Boxes and limited left field to cover in Houston makes that worthwhile. Winker might be able to get two years but shouldn’t be all that expensive.

Jason Heyward: Heyward finished the 2024 season in Houston after being released by the Dodgers. He hit four homers in 24 regular season contests and started one of their Division Series games against the Tigers. While it was a fairly strong finish, Heyward had hit .208/.289/.393 across 197 plate appearances with Los Angeles. He’s at best a strong-side platoon option and might be a better fit for a bench role going into his age-35 season. He’d be available for one year and a base salary of a few million dollars.

David Peralta: Peralta has a similar profile to Heyward. He’s a former above-average regular who has settled into a platoon role in his late 30s. He’s coming off a nice season for the Padres, hitting .267/.335/.415 across 260 plate appearances. The Astros would probably prefer to bring Heyward back if they’re going this route, but Peralta had better numbers in 2024.

Trade Candidates

Jesús Sánchez: Outside of Sandy Alcántara and the dead money owed to released outfielder Avisaíl García, Sánchez projects as the highest-paid player on the Marlins. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $3.2MM salary in his second of four trips through arbitration. That’s hardly exorbitant, but Miami has shown a willingness to move virtually anyone amidst their full rebuild. Sánchez is a former top prospect who has settled in as a low-end regular in the big leagues. He’s coming off a .252/.313/.417 showing with 18 homers and 16 stolen bases — his second straight league average offensive performance. He’s a roughly average defender in either corner. The 27-year-old may not have the upside that many prospect evaluators had hoped, but he’d be an upgrade over Trammell.

Mike Yastrzemski: The Giants seemed likely to deal one of their arbitration-eligible players at the start of the offseason. Yastrzemski, who agreed to a $9.25MM salary in his final year of club control, seemed the most logical candidate. San Francisco has been quiet since pulling off the Willy Adames deal, however, so they might not be looking to shed payroll to open additional free agent pursuits. Yastrzmeski is coming off a .231/.302/.437 showing with 18 homers through 474 trips to the plate.

Willi Castro: Castro is a switch-hitting utility player who has more than 800 innings of left field experience. He has had a solid two-year run in Minnesota, hitting .251/.334/.395 in 1044 plate appearances. Castro was a nice find for the Twins’ front office, who inked him to a minor league deal after he’d been non-tendered by the Tigers. He’s in his final winter of arbitration and projected for a $6.2MM salary. Minnesota highly values his versatility and clubhouse presence, so they’re probably not keen on moving him. Yet the Twins are working with an extremely tight budget and have done nothing in free agency. Trading Castro would be one way to open a bit of payroll space.

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There are a few other trade candidates if Houston wanted to take a bigger swing. Players like Wilyer Abreu, Jake McCarthy and Alec Burleson could be available. They’d require a stronger prospect return than any of Sánchez, Yastrzmeski or Castro, however. That seems unlikely considering the Astros dealt Tucker because they wanted to add talent to a very thin farm system without giving up on the upcoming season.

Angels, Sebastian Rivero Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Angels signed catcher Sebastián Rivero to a minor league contract last month, as reflected on the MLB.com transaction log. It’s unclear if he’ll be invited to major league Spring Training.

Rivero, 26, has two seasons of major league experience. He played in 34 games for the Royals between 2021-22, hitting .167 without a home run over 73 trips to the plate. Kansas City released him after the ’22 campaign. The Venezuelan-born catcher has spent the past two seasons in the upper minors, dividing his time between the White Sox and Braves organizations. He hit .186/.239/.249 in 75 games between Double-A and Triple-A in the Atlanta system a year ago. Rivero has been playing winter ball, where he’s hitting .182 in 21 games.

While there’s clearly not a ton of offensive upside, Rivero adds catching depth to the upper levels of the minors. He has started nearly 400 games and caught almost 3500 innings in his minor league career. Rivero has cut down around a quarter of attempted basestealers in each of the last two seasons.

Logan O’Hoppe and Travis d’Arnaud will divide the catching duties at Angel Stadium. Recent trade pickup Chuckie Robinson projects as the top depth option as the only other catcher on the 40-man roster. They hadn’t had any non-roster catchers with major league experience before signing Rivero, who could back Robinson up at Triple-A Salt Lake.

Latest On Max Scherzer

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With the rotation market moving more quickly than the rest of free agency, the number of unsigned starting pitchers is dwindling. Jack Flaherty, Nick Pivetta and potential reliever conversion Jeff Hoffman are at the top of the class. Beyond that, teams are evaluating pitchers who’ll likely be limited to one- or two-year commitments.

Max Scherzer may be the most intriguing of those short-term targets. The future Hall of Famer was limited to nine starts and 43 1/3 innings during his final season with the Rangers. Scherzer has made clear that he has no plans to retire. He’ll be back for his age-40 campaign in hopes of a healthier, more productive season.

In a live stream for Bleacher Report this afternoon, Jon Heyman suggested that Scherzer is fielding interest from four teams. Heyman indicated that the market “is heating up a bit,” so it’s possible that the three-time Cy Young winner could come off the board in the relatively near future.

Scherzer opened the ’24 season on the injured list as he finished rehab from last December’s back surgery. Nerve irritation in his throwing hand delayed his return until late June. Scherzer made eight starts before going back on the shelf with shoulder fatigue. That kept him out into September. His season concluded after one additional start because of a strained left hamstring.

A pitcher battling multiple injuries, including back surgery, at age 40 is obviously going to raise concerns. Scherzer is only one season removed from starting 30 games and topping 160 innings between the regular season and playoffs. He’d surpassed 170 innings in every full schedule between 2009-21. Until last year, he’d been incredibly durable.

Scherzer remains productive when he’s able to pitch, albeit not at a Cy Young level. He turned in a 3.77 ERA with a 28% strikeout rate between the Mets and Rangers in 2023. Last season, he allowed just under four earned runs per nine with a diminished 22.6% strikeout percentage. Scherzer still got a ton of chases and whiffs on a per-pitch basis though. His 14.6% swinging strike rate ranked fifth among starting pitchers with 40+ innings. Only Blake Snell, Garrett Crochet, Logan Gilbert and Dylan Cease missed bats at a higher rate.

Aside from perhaps Flaherty, Scherzer arguably has the highest ceiling for next season alone of any unsigned starter. There’s also significant risk because of the recent spate of injuries. Scherzer will almost certainly be limited to a one-year contract, so the long-term downside is limited, but he should command a strong salary.

Alex Cobb landed $15MM from the Tigers coming off a season in which he combined for 23 innings between the regular season and playoffs. He recently turned 37 and doesn’t miss bats at anywhere near the rate Scherzer does. It stands to reason that Scherzer and his representation at the Boras Corporation will be aiming to beat Cobb money, perhaps in pursuit of a contract closer to $20MM.

Heyman’s report doesn’t specify any of the teams involved in the bidding. Speculatively speaking, the Braves, Orioles, Blue Jays, Cubs, Nationals and Mets are among the teams that could have some spending room and a desire for a short-term upside play. Scherzer isn’t going to sign with a team that doesn’t have a path to contention, but there are very few truly rebuilding clubs right now. Every team aside from Colorado, Miami and the White Sox may feel they have a path to a Wild Card spot.

Each Team’s Free Agent Spending Thus Far

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The New Year serves as a symbolic halfway point of the offseason. It has been just over two months since the Dodgers knocked off the Yankees to win the World Series. We’re a little more than six weeks from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training.

Twenty six of MLBTR’s Top 50 free agents have come off the board. Four of the top 10 remain unsigned, as well as Roki Sasaki (who was not ranked because his earning power is limited). More than half the money has been spent — Alex Bregman is the only unsigned player who landed within our top six free agents — but the offseason is proceeding at a relatively normal pace. It has moved a little more quickly than last winter, when 22 players from our Top 50 had signed by the time the calendar flipped to January.

Using MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, we’ll look through every team’s activity on the open market. We’ll stretch back to November 4, the date at which free agents were first allowed to begin discussing contract terms with every team. That excludes a pair of deals that were signed within the five-day exclusive negotiation window for teams to discuss contracts with their own free agents: the Reds’ $2.25MM deal with Brent Suter and the Royals retaining Michael Wacha on a three-year, $51MM contract.

This isn’t an exhaustive look at a team’s offseason activity. The Blue Jays (Andrés Giménez), Angels (Jorge Soler), Cubs (Kyle Tucker) and Yankees (Cody Bellinger) are among teams that have acquired highly-paid players in trade. The Dodgers signed Tommy Edman to an extension that guaranteed $64.5MM in new money. This is strictly a look at free agent activity.

For this exercise, we’ll take the total amount even if the contract includes deferred money. Teams are ordered by overall spending.

1. New York Mets

Total guarantees: $917.25MM

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

Total spending: $287MM

3. New York Yankees

Total guarantees: $235.5MM

4. Arizona Diamondbacks

Total guarantees: $210MM

5. San Francisco Giants

Total guarantees: $182MM

6. Texas Rangers

Total guarantees: $130.5MM

7. Los Angeles Angels

Total guarantees: $80.25MM

8. Baltimore Orioles

Total guarantees: $71MM

9. Athletics

Total guarantees: $70.95MM

10. Houston Astros

Total guarantees: $60MM

11. Boston Red Sox

Total guarantees: $52.3MM

12. Cleveland Guardians

Total guarantees: $42MM

13. Chicago Cubs

Total guarantees: More than $40.5MM

14. Detroit Tigers

Total guarantees: $30MM

15. Washington Nationals

Total guarantees: $29MM

16. Philadelphia Phillies

Total guarantees: $22.5MM

17. Cincinnati Reds

Total guarantees: $21.05MM

18. Toronto Blue Jays

Total guarantees: $15MM

19. Tampa Bay Rays

Total guarantees: $8.5MM

19. Colorado Rockies

Total guarantees: $8.5MM

21. Pittsburgh Pirates

Total guarantees: More than $5MM

22. Chicago White Sox

Total guarantees: $4.75MM

23. Atlanta Braves

Total guarantees: More than $360K

24. Miami Marlins

Total guarantees: $200K

25. Milwaukee Brewers

Total guarantees: More than $0

26. Kansas City Royals

Total guarantees: $0

  • None*

26. Minnesota Twins

Total guarantees: $0

  • None

26. San Diego Padres

Total guarantees: $0

  • None

26. Seattle Mariners

Total guarantees: $0

  • None

26. St. Louis Cardinals

Total guarantees: $0

  • None

* Counting Wacha as a free agent deal rather than an extension would push Kansas City to 12th in total spending

Jesus Luzardo Discusses Return From Injury

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Phillies newly-acquired starter Jesús Luzardo chatted with the Philadelphia beat over Zoom on Monday. The southpaw finished the 2024 season on the injured list but indicated he’s going into next season at full strength.

“I feel 100%. I’ve felt 100% the whole offseason,” Luzardo said. “Last year, the back was really the problem. Now that we’ve got that all figured out, thankfully everything’s back to normal.” He added that he has had a typical offseason, so it seems fair to assume he’ll be a full go for Spring Training. A lumbar stress reaction sent Luzardo to the 15-day IL in the second half of June. It didn’t take long before Miami transferred him to the 60-day injured list. The Marlins shut him down for good in early August.

Luzardo’s final season with the Marlins was a disappointment. The 27-year-old lefty struggled to an even 5.00 earned run average over 12 starts. He struck out a slightly below-average 21.2% of batters faced. Luzardo missed a couple weeks early in the year with elbow tightness, but the back proved much more problematic.

A fully healthy version of Luzardo is a #2 or #3 caliber starter. He showed that upside in 2023. Luzardo turned in a 3.58 ERA while striking out 28.1% of opponents across 178 2/3 innings. Luzardo averaged nearly 97 MPH on his heater and missed plenty of bats with both his slider and changeup. His 14.1% overall swinging strike rate ranked sixth among qualified starting pitchers.

Philadelphia sent highly-regarded shortstop prospect Starlyn Caba to Miami as the headliner of the Luzardo trade. A return to his ’23 form would arguably give Philadelphia the best front five in MLB. He’ll slot behind Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola and alongside Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez in Rob Thomson’s staff. The depth isn’t great, though the Phils have added Joe Ross on a $4MM free agent deal to join Taijuan Walker as candidates for swing roles.

Pitching prospect Andrew Painter could eventually be a factor, but that won’t happen within the season’s first month or two. Philadelphia is being very cautious with the touted 21-year-old righty, whom they’ve seemingly kept untouchable in trade talks. Painter is working back from July 2023 Tommy John surgery. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters (including Matt Gelb of the Athletic) last week that the Phils won’t have Painter pitch in games during Spring Training. He’ll continue throwing on the side in the spring and will subsequently need to build into game shape in the minors.

Painter made six appearances and tallied 15 2/3 innings in last year’s Arizona Fall League. That’s his only game action since the conclusion of the 2022 season. The Phillies will need to keep a close watch on his workload and certainly envision Painter as a factor in a potential pennant race. It’s understandable they’d prefer to start him slowly and concentrate on saving his bullets for what they hope will be another playoff push. That’s especially true now that Luzardo is in the fold, allowing them to open the season with both Ross and Walker in the ’pen if their top five arms are healthy.

Craig Breslow Discusses Casas, Bregman, Devers

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Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow met with the Boston beat on Monday to discuss the team’s offseason. MLBTR has already relayed Breslow’s notes on Lucas Giolito and Roki Sasaki, respectively. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe were among those to cover Breslow’s other comments.

Most notably, the CBO pushed back against trade rumors swirling around first baseman Triston Casas. “I’m not totally sure where it comes from. We’re not shopping Triston,” Breslow said. “We see him as a guy that can hit in the middle of the lineup for a really long time here in Boston. I’ve seen some of the speculation about what deals may or may not have existed, or what may or may not have been proposed, and there was nothing that was remotely close. We’re certainly not shopping him.”

Reporting has generally characterized the Sox as being open to a Casas trade without suggesting they’re actively trying to deal him. That has been most prevalent in the context of attempting to line up a deal with Seattle for a controllable starter. Ryan Divish and Adam Jude of the Seattle Times reported during the Winter Meetings that the Mariners had rebuffed interest from the Sox in swapping Casas for a young starter like Bryan Woo or Bryce Miller. Boston has seemingly not had interest in a Casas for Luis Castillo framework. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand wrote last week that the Sox would’ve wanted Seattle to take on the underwater Masataka Yoshida contract in that situation.

In any case, it looks increasingly likely that Casas will remain on the Red Sox going into next season. Boston has added Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler to a rotation that already included Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford. Giolito is shooting for an Opening Day return from internal brace surgery. That gives the Sox at least six viable starters, while Cooper Criswell and Richard Fitts are on hand as depth options. Garrett Whitlock is likely to kick back to the bullpen once he returns from his own elbow surgery.

While the rotation may no longer be a priority, Breslow highlighted two longstanding target areas: a right-handed bat and the bullpen. They’ve made progress in the latter area, bringing in Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson to strengthen the left side. Whitlock and Liam Hendriks could step in alongside second-year pitcher Justin Slaten in the late innings. Whitlock, Hendriks, and Wilson all come with some durability question marks. Chapman’s scattershot command makes him something of a wild card. Slaten, who is just one season removed from being a Rule 5 selection, might be the team’s safest reliever.

Relief pitching is tough to project, and the Sox have a more volatile bullpen than most contenders. There’s a decent amount of upside, but it’s not surprising that Breslow indicated they’ll look for another addition. The free agent relief market has barely moved. Only three relievers — Clay Holmes, Blake Treinen and Yimi García — have signed multi-year deals. Holmes is stretching out as a starter after signing a three-year contract with the Mets. Chapman and Nick Martinez (who accepted a qualifying offer from Cincinnati) are the only other relievers to sign for a guarantee above $10MM.

The slowly-developing relief market in part reflects a weaker than average free agent group. However, the top two relievers, Tanner Scott and Jeff Hoffman, remain unsigned going into the new year. Carlos Estévez, Kirby Yates, A.J. Minter and David Robertson are other relievers who have yet to sign. Ryan Helsley is the top name on the trade market, though the Cardinals seem to prefer to hold him until the deadline.

In contrast to the bullpen, Boston has yet to make a move for a right-handed hitter aside from a trade for backup catcher Carlos Narváez. The Sox lost Tyler O’Neill from a group that was already very left-handed. Breslow reiterated that the Sox wanted impact production from “a right-handed bat out of the middle of the lineup.” He left open the possibility of internal improvements but noted they’re “certainly also engaged in conversations for players that aren’t yet in the organization.”

The top remaining free agent, righty-hitting infielder Alex Bregman, has been linked to the Sox in recent weeks. Asked whether the Sox are still involved on Bregman, Breslow pointed back to the need for right-handed hitting generally. “As you probably can imagine, I’m not going to speak about specific pursuits. I can say that right-handed bats that we feel like could play well at our park are certainly of interest to us, and we remain engaged on a number of fronts.”

Breslow added that the Red Sox aren’t looking to move Rafael Devers off the hot corner. That doesn’t rule out Bregman, who’d be a massive upgrade over Boston’s internal options at second base (i.e. Vaughn Grissom, David Hamilton, Romy Gonzalez). Switch-hitting outfielders Anthony Santander and Jurickson Profar are speculative possibilities. Pete Alonso may be the best unsigned right-handed hitter, but he’d be a tough roster fit unless the Sox deal Casas or can offload most of the Yoshida contract.

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