The Red Sox‘s priorities here in the fall and winter after a breakthrough 2025 campaign that saw them finally show results on their vast pool of young players are pretty clear. They will need to add some oomph to the lineup–and determine whether that includes Alex Bregman in the process–as well as beef up their starting pitching, where a No. 2 pitcher to go with Garrett Crochet is a stated goal.
But the Red Sox could throw in some wrinkles along the way that few saw coming when the team wrapped up the season with a wild-card loss to the Yankees. The bullpen was a strength last year, so the first-blush assumption is that the Red Sox will mostly leave it alone, but it turns out, that assumption is not a particularly safe one.
Reporting from The Athletic notes that the Red Sox have interest in prying away free agent reliever Devin Williams, who signed a one-year, $8.6 million contract with the Yankees last offseason and is returning to the market now.
Devin Williams Due for a Bounce-Back
“Prying” might be too strong a word, of course, because the Yankees might not have much use for Williams, who had a hard time pitching in the Bronx and put up his worst season of his career in 2025, throwing 67 games and going 4-6 with a 4.79 ERA.
The Red Sox could look at that as an anomaly, which might be wise considering what Williams had done in his previous six season as the bullpen ace for the Brewers: 27-10 in 241 games, with a 1.83 ERA. Boston could also get Williams on the cheap, as Spotrac projects him to warrant a one-year, $5.7 million contract this offseason.
That might be low, however. The Red Sox were reportedly among 12 teams who were rumored to have interest in the 31-year-old Williams, despite a clearly off year in New York.
Red Sox Could Add Devin Williams in ‘Super Pen’
Still, there is a bubbling notion that the Red Sox might come into 2025 with a “super pen” as The Athletic termed it.
The site wrote: “Though the idea is further down their list of priorities, the Boston Red Sox are considering the addition of a high-leverage reliever to create a version of a super bullpen, people familiar with the club’s thinking said. …
Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Whitlock would be safe in their roles in such a set-up, “But adding another reliever similar to that pair would obviously enhance their bullpen.”
Williams would fit that bill, no doubt.
GettyRed Sox CBO Craig Breslow
Red Sox ‘Open-Minded’ About Ways to Improve
Red Sox chief Craig Breslow does seem open to that possibility. Again, he did not highlight it as a priority, but he was quoted in the Boston Globe saying that the team will look at all avenues to improve its ability to get outs.
“We can do a better job of preventing other teams from scoring. There are a bunch of different ways to do that. We’ll be open-minded about all of them,” said Breslow. “The most straightforward is building out a better starting rotation. I’ve talked a bunch about that. …
“Another is to make sure that when our starters hand the ball to our relievers, any leads that we have we’re preserving. So, I think we’ll look at it from all angles, but I think our priority remains starting pitching and position players.”
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