Picking up Ranger Suárez will likely prove to be the highlight of the Boston Red Sox's offseason, though it's far from the only notably move they've made.
Various trades have provided answers at first base (Willson Contreras) and in the rotation (Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo), with Rule 5 pick Ryan Watson likely to factor into the bullpen mix. It's been a nice assortment of decisions made by front office chief Craig Breslow, even if there's still some consternation in the fanbase surrounding one particular third baseman.
Though it's gone under the radar, Breslow actually deserves a lot of credit for his full-scope offseason planning. Gray, Oviedo, and Suárez all come with attached with various years of control remaining, giving the Red Sox a path to being competitive immediately without blocking the path of the organization's top pitching prospects.
Gray, 36, is likely to become a free agent after this year (he has a $30 million mutual option that will almost certainly be declined), rendering him a short-term answer in the middle of Alex Cora's rotation. Oviedo, on the other hand, still has two years remaining in arbitration, making him something of a medium-term answer and a possible extensions candidate if he lives up to the hype in Boston.
Red Sox have opened a long-term path for Payton Tolle and Connelly Early without sacrificing 2026
Suárez, of course, signed a five-year deal with the Red Sox; that may not "long-term" in the traditional baseball sense — Juan Soto signed a 15-year deal last winter, after all — but it is a half-decade of certainty in the front of the rotation.
In conjunction with the upcoming contract expirations of Patrick Sandoval (2026) and Tanner Houck (2027), as well as the trades of depth arms like Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins, the franchise has done a really nice job of putting together a deep and talented pitching staff that still allows for Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, Kyson Witherspoon, or some other minor-league arm to settle into a long-term gig in Boston.
Sorting through their ample pitching depth and laying out a clear long-term plan may not have the biggest priority this offseason, but it's still an important thing to have accomplished for the health and longevity of this competitive window.
There's also some credit due to Breslow for going right back to Scott Boras — Suárez's agent — after losing Alex Bregman to the Chicago Cubs. Obviously, it'd be nice had the team signed both players, but it's nice to see that getting spurned by one Boras client didn't stop the front office from pursuing another.