Updates From the General Manager Meetings: Red Sox Say They’re Going To Spend

The offseason has just started, and it’s officially the time for whispers. Hot stove rumors about which teams are interested in which players are everywhere. This week, the top executives from all 30 clubs are gathered in San Antonio for the General Managers Meetings, the first event of the offseason, and the rumor mill is in full gear. Here’s a quick breakdown of what has been reported from San Antonio. Credit for what you’re about to read goes to Alex Speier and Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, who have done excellent reporting so far.

The biggest piece of news is also the least solid. Abraham tweeted that several agents, including super-agent Scott Boras, have described the impressions they’ve gotten during their meetings with the Red Sox. “The message from the Sox has been that ownership is committed to high-end talent and the team plans to be active in the free agent market,” he wrote. This is somewhat vague and we’ll have to wait and see how things turn out, but it’s certainly a promising sign. It would at the very least be unusual for the Red Sox to give this impression to multiple agents, including the game’s most prominent one in Boras, only to fail to follow through.

Christopher Smith of MassLive reported some quotes from chief baseball officer Craig Breslow that echoed that sentiment. “Without getting kind of into specifics, I think we have to be open to improving our team and I don’t think we’ve been shy about the fact that our position player group is further ahead than our pitching group,” Breslow said. “And so as it relates to upgrades, it will require really elite talent in order to upgrade the position player group in certain instances. So we’ll kind of focus our attention appropriately. But we’re going to engage. We’re going to explore anything that we think makes us better.” After speculating for the last few months about whether or not the Red Sox will really go for it this offseason, it’s relieving to see the words “really elite talent” with quotation marks around them.

Smith reported that Breslow is feeling more comfortable in his second season running the Red Sox, and that it could make the team more aggressive. “I think it feels different. I think it should feel different,” Breslow said. “I know a lot more about the organization. I think we know a lot more about our players. And so being better informed allows us to make better decisions. Ultimately, our goal is to deliver to the fans a team that is capable of winning the World Series every year. And we are approaching this offseason that way.”

Speier also relayed some significant quotes from Breslow. When asked whether the team would be more likely to add to the club by way of trades or free agent signings, Breslow kept his options open, “We’ll be open to both,” he said. “We do have a bunch of position players that we feel really good about, and we’ve got to figure out how we maximize their value, whether that’s in Boston or elsewhere. But at the same time, I’ve talked for a while about how the recipe for success here has been homegrown talent supplemented via free agency, and I don’t see that changing. We’ll be open to both.” In a similar vein, Smith reported that Breslow said, “The goal is to construct the strongest team we possibly can and we need to be flexible. We need to be open to a number of paths in doing that.”

This is one of the biggest questions of the offseason, and Boston fans aren't the only ones asking it. Speier reported some comments from executives of other clubs, who sound awfully excited about the possibility of trading for Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, and Kyle Teel. “That position player group is about as good as you can find,” one American League GM said. “[They can] 100 percent [deal for anyone]. And it’s also totally fair for them to say, ‘Hey, all [four] of those guys may be here in ‘25 and help us, so we’re not going to trade them.’ They’re really good.”

Per Speier, Breslow also said that the team is disinclined to trade first baseman Triston Casas. “We’re glad he’s on our team,” he said. “It’s hard to imagine we would ever line up in terms of value. Do we have to be open [to discussing him]? Sure, but a middle-of-the-order bat who can hit 40 home runs and under control for a while [is a] hard guy to trade.” Lastly, Breslow said that the team is interested in acquiring a left-handed reliever and that their new backup catcher – filling the hole left by the departure of Danny Jansen – is likely to come from outside the organization.

Abraham reported that the Red Sox met with Scott Boras on Tuesday, not to negotiate anything, but to keep a dialog open. Boras represents several of the most prominent free agents, including Juan Soto, Alex Bregman, Blake Snell, and Pete Alonso. He also represents Tyler O’Neill, who hit 31 homers for the Red Sox in 2024, and to whom they declined give a qualifying offer. Boras reiterated what O’Neill has said himself in recent weeks, that O’Neill “had a great experience” in Boston and would be happy to return.

Lastly, If you were skeptical of the team’s move to sign Nick Pivetta, you might be comforted to learn that on Tuesday, MLB Network’s Jon Paul Morosi had an update that might bring you comfort. “His market, from what I’ve been told the last couple days, is surprisingly strong.” Morosi went on to explain that, as we wrote earlier this week, teams are enticed by Pivetta’s raw stuff. If Pivetta ends up signing elsewhere, the Red Sox receive a compensation pick, and the gambit worked. Morosi’s full comments start at the 2:40 mark.