When it comes to big ticket items the Red Sox need this winter, I’m becoming increasingly leery of ownership’s actions not meeting the moment. Here’s how I would frame the offseason as we hit the key weeks of the winter:
The Red Sox need three big ticket items this winter, but I’m increasingly suspicious they only add two.
Specifically, the Red Sox need two big bats (which means bringing back Bregman AND grabbing one more big bopper), AND a legitimate No. 2 starter — a king to play behind Crochet’s
ace.
You don’t have to look any further than the gaggle of hideous performances in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against the Yankees to see how much lacking these necessities cost them. Brayan Bello faced just 11 guys and failed to get five of them out in a dreadful 2.1 innings of work, and the offense lacked the firepower to put away a series that should have been a two game sweep. The goal this offseason needs to be to address these deficiencies!
However, what I’m afraid the Red Sox are going to do is sign just one big bat and trade for one quality pitcher from their surplus of outfielders and call it day (at least in terms of top shelf stuff — there will certainly be other moves around the margins). The concern here is that ownership will shy away from the second big bat because that would require them to puncture too many layers of the luxury tax, and we all know how much they hate to do that. If this turns out to be the case, the only alternatives would be to either go forward with an inadequate lineup, or make a second big trade for the final big ticket item, which could damage the crop feeding the young core that’s created so much excitement in recent months.
No matter how you slice it, this winter is the litmus test of how ownership plans to run the finances with a young core firmly and finally established. Building atop this foundation requires a bump in payroll (i.e. a second top market bat) if the club is going to maximize this window.
What will they do? Only time will tell for sure, but until proven wrong, this quote from Jeff Passan last week is going to hang over the Red Sox offseason like a storm cloud on your wedding day.
As long as Red Sox ownership keeps the financial clamps on chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, he’ll need to get creative in improving a Red Sox team that’s already quite good.
It’s Show-And-Tell time John!
