With just over a month until pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers, the Boston Red Sox roster still has holes. In one of the slowest-moving offseasons in quite some time, Craig Breslow seems to be playing the long game with the rest of the league to try and wait out his targets.
The Red Sox's obvious No. 1 priority at this point in the winter is signing Alex Bregman (or his potential replacement). Breslow struck early in the offseason to flesh out his rotation, making two deals for starting pitchers. He fixed the hole at first base in another trade just before Christmas, but has yet to sign a major league free agent.
No one is sure at this point whether Boston will make another trade after signaling to the league that it's comfortable going into the season with four starting outfielders. That leaves the vacancy in the infield and the bullpen as the remaining spots Breslow will hopefully fill with free agents.
The fanbase's focus has been Bregman all offseason, and it seems like the front office is in lock step with them now. That's all good, but the bullpen is still in need of an arm or two. Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported on January 7 that the Sox are finally looking for reinforcements. Cotillo writes that the Red Sox have been in contact with Danny Coulombe, Tim Mayza and Cionel Pérez so far.
Boston needs to make sure to finalize their bullpen at the same time as courting Bregman, not one or the other
Per @Ken_Rosenthal , The Red Sox are more focused on position players, even though it should not be ruled out that they could add another pitcher. Bregman and Bitchette continue to be the potential fits.
— SleeperRedSox (@SleeperRedSox) January 5, 2026
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The Red Sox bullpen is the one part of the roster that has gotten categorically worse since the end of 2025. The Sox allowed Justin Wilson and Steven Matz to leave — Matz already signed a deal with Tampa — and traded away a lot of depth just before the Rule 5 deadline. The only addition as of Jan. 5 has been righty Ryan Watson via the Rule 5 draft.
The biggest need for Boston on the pitching side is another reliable lefty for the late innings. Currently, Fangraphs' RosterResource has Jovani Morán slated as the only southpaw in Boston's bullpen besides Aroldis Chapman. Moran pitched just four innings in Boston in 2025, spending most of the season in Triple-A once he returned from injury.
Having just one other lefty in the bullpen would be a major change from 2025 as well. For most of '25, the Sox carried three lefties, sometimes four. It would be odd for such a major change in philosophy in one offseason, but the likelier, more hopeful reason is that Breslow is still shopping.
If he is still shopping, he can't keep this on the back burner for too much longer. The market may be moving slowly, but relievers are still signing contracts every day, and the high-end ones are dwindling. Boston needs to complete their bullpen, and they can't wait for Bregman's answer to do so.