The initial stages of the MLB offseason are just getting rolling, and for Red Sox baseball chief Craig Breslow, that means the hunt for another starting pitcher is on. This week, general managers and top executives from around the game are gathered in Las Vegas, and the feeling-out stage of potential transactions to come is in full swing.
While the Red Sox have a number of items that will need addressing this winter, the long-rumored top priority is finding another starting pitcher, one who can be slotted into the top of the rotation alongside ace Garrett Crochet. The Red Sox got two very good performances from Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello in 2025, but it was clear that by the time the season wrapped up, the team was at a loss for a true No. 2.
Job 1 this winter for Breslow is to fix that, whether it be a star-caliber trade for the likes of Tarik Skubal or, maybe more realistically, Joe Ryan, or in free agency with a wild-card like Framber Valdez or Dylan Cease. Breslow is happy with the depth the Red Sox have built up on the pitching staff, but bolstering the top end is a must.
Red Sox Seeking Top-End Starting Pitching
Again, it’s long been speculated that the Red Sox would be on the lookout for a No. 2 starter. But Breslow was blunt in confirming it.
“Starting pitching,” Breslow told reporters. “And particularly someone we feel can start alongside or slot in behind Garrett and start a playoff game for us. Because of the depth that we’ve built up over the last couple of years, we feel pretty good about overall starting pitching and Nos. 3-ish through 10-ish, and that’s not to take away from guys who are certainly capable of doing more. It’s 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 playoff game for us.”
Starting Pitching Came Up Short in Playoffs
It was Bello who started Game 2 of the Red Sox’s wild-card loss to the Yankees, after Crochet won Game 1 with a brilliant performance. Bello was 11-9 with a 3.35 ERA this season, the best of his four-year career. But when he took the mound in Yankee Stadium–a place he had thrived in the regular season–he lasted only 2.1 innings, giving up four hits (including a homer) and a walk.
Giolito was a candidate to start that game, after going 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA in the regular season. But a late-season elbow injury scratched him from the playoffs, leaving the Red Sox to use Bello and rookie Connelly Early in the series behind Crochet.
The Red Sox did not make a qualifying offer for Giolito, sending him to free agency and likely meaning he will land elsewhere next season.
Red Sox Could Return to Trade Market
Breslow did not tip his hand on how the Red Sox would proceed in the pitching market, but acknowledged that the trading of four prospects for Crochet last winter worked out well for the team. That could be the approach again–but it’s not something the Red Sox want to do habitually.
“We’ll see what the trade and free agent markets dictate,” said Breslow. “There are compelling opportunities in both, we think. We also are mindful of, while we believe we’re in a window to contend and to compete for the postseason, World Series championships, we’re also mindful of keeping one eye on the future.
“Trading away four really good young players for a starting pitcher is one way of pulling those wins forward. And there are times we showed, last year being one of them, that you have to do that. But we also don’t want to be in a position where we’re having to do that year over year.”
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