What is Pete Alonso going to get?
LAS VEGAS - Maybe it was the view that was leading Craig Breslow to think big on the first day of the GM meetings. The Cosmopolitan hotel room, with a balcony overlooking such Vegas wonders as the Las Vegas Sphere and the fountain in front of the Bellagio, certainly should not have diminished the merits of living among the brightest of lights.
In reality, the scene as the Red Sox's chief baseball officer spoke to the assembled Boston media was purely additive. But what the message Breslow passed on certainly suggested there might be transactional fireworks.
Prioritizing a middle-of-the-order power bat and a no-doubt-it No. 2 starter is hardly shying away from the Hot Stove neon lights.
First up, the bat.
"I don’t want to get so anchored to this idea that the only way to score runs is home runs. We showed that isn’t the case. That said, a disproportionate number of runs in the postseason are scored via the home run and that’s not something that we can ignore," Breslow said. "And there’s just something about an at-bat in the middle of the lineup that forces another team to game-plan against it, that I think has a compounding effect on the rest of the roster. We didn’t slug nearly as much as I think we can or we will, and we’ll pursue opportunities to improve that. Free agency is one of them, trades are another. We lost Roman (Anthony), we lost Wily (Abreu) for significant stretches, and those are two guys who can hit the ball out of the park consistently."
The obvious targets, at least on the free agent market, would be Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso, both of whom could man a first base/designated hitter spot. While Schwarber has already exhibited his worth in the Red Sox's clubhouse, he does have a qualifying offer attached (necessitating a draft pick if signed), and he hits from a side of the plate - the left - the team might already be covered at.
Alonso isn't carrying a qualifying offer and is a righty hitter. And, just for added intrigue, his wife is a native of Quincy.
"In a perfect world, I would suppose we would want to balance out the lineup a bit," Breslow said when asked if it mattered what side of the plate the potential slugger might hit from. "That said, I think when you can hit the ball out of the park, it doesn’t really matter. I think we have found that lefties can use the wall and create a good offensive environment, righties who can pull the ball in the air can do the same thing. There are a number of different ways for us to improve our slug, but I think this idea that we can do more damage on balls on play is certainly a correct one."
As for one internal solution regarding the Red Sox adding to their home run total, Triston Casas, Breslow did suggest the first baseman's surgically-repaired knee might be ready for participation when spring training rolls around.
"I’m always reluctant to put timelines on things that are months away because I feel like you either meet them and everything is OK and you don’t sometimes for no reason other than things pop up and there are questions about what the setback was," Breslow explained. "Triston is anticipating being ready for spring training. Exactly what that looks like, we’ll find out. But he’s moving around really well. He’s committed to living in Fort Myers for the offseason to make sure he gets the treatment and support that he needs."
Then there is the other perceieved priority: A No. 2 pitcher.
Breslow made it very clear that the club is content with its current level of depth among starters, particularly with the return of Kutter Crawford. The presence of such contributors as Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, Patrick Sandoval, Cooper Criswell, Richard Fitts, Kyle Harrison, and the team's No. 2 starter at times last season, Brayan Bello, has led the CBO to focus on one specific skill set.
He wants to find someone who, as Breslow explains it, "can start alongside or slot in behind Garrett (Crochet) and start a playoff game for us."
"Last season, Bello played that role for a majority of the season. Lucas (Giolito) played that role for a majority of the season," he said. "Because of the depth that we’ve built up over the last couple of years, we feel pretty good about just overall starting pitching and numbers 3-ish through 10-ish and that’s not to take away from guys are certainly capable of doing more and more just to say I don’t think we’re going to spend a ton of time trying to add a No. 4 or a No. 5 starter. If we’re going to make a starting pitching addition, I think it should be somebody who can pitch at the front of a rotation and start a game for us."
One of the names that immediately comes to mind when identifying such a spot in the rotation is Minnesota's Joe Ryan, who still has two years of team control on his contract, and the Red Sox made a run at him during last season's trade deadline.
Such a target would mirror what the Red Sox did last offseason when trading for Crochet. And, as Breslow explained, that was a deal that found its roots in conversations both at the previous trade deadline and such early-offseason gatherings as the GM meetings.
"I think because we had so many conversations, even going back to the previous offseason and then through the trade deadline, we had a good idea that Garrett was someone we were going to spend some time on," Breslow reflected. "This year, I anticipate some conversations will be extensions of what we discussed at the trade deadline, and others will be different. Teams are in different positions, whether that’ financially or competitively. I wouldn’t say you start anew, but you kind of recanvas the landscape and have initial phone calls in these meetings and you hope some of the conversations gain traction."
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- Breslow said Roman Anthony is asymptomatic after his late-season oblique injury and will be participating in a normal offseason.
- The CBO explained that Marcelo Mayer's wrist injury was progressing to the level that he might have been available if the Red Sox made a deep postseason run. The priority for Mayer remains gaining size and strength.
- So, will the money gained from the Rafael Devers' trade impact this offseason? "It could, Breslow said. "I think the flexibility gives us, it affords us different opportunities, and my job, with the rest of the front office, is to make sure we make the best decisions we possibly can."