The Boston Red Sox went into the offseason looking to make big changes — at least that’s what fans believed.
Instead, new GM Craig Breslow has been conservative with his additions to the 2024 season roster, and it’s not just fans that seemed displeased.
It’s the players, too.
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Red Sox All-Star Rafael Devers spoke to reporters down at spring training on Tuesday, where he didn’t hold back his thoughts on how the offseason went.
“Everybody in this organization wants to win, but [Red Sox leadership] need to make an adjustment to help us players be in a better position to win,” Devers said, via Red Sox interpreter Carlos Villoria.
“Everybody knows what we need. You know what we need, and they know what we need. There’s just some things I can’t say out loud, but everybody that knows our organization and knows the game knows what we need.”
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Devers signed a 10-year, $313.5 million contract to remain the face of the Sox last offseason, so he wants to see the best team put together each season since he’ll be in Boston for years to come.
Pitching is an obvious need for the Red Sox, especially in the starting rotation. At the moment, the starting five looks to be Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck. Not one of these pitchers had an ERA below four this past season.
Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell, the reigning NL Cy Young, are both still available on the free agent market, but the Red Sox have not been rumored to be aggressively pursuing them.
As a team that finished dead last in the AL East this past season (78-84), changes were made by ownership to bring in Breslow after Chaim Bloom was relieved of his duties.
But since taking over, Breslow hasn’t made any splashes. Instead, he traded outfielder Alex Verdugo to their AL East-rival New York Yankees, while also dealing Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves for Vaughn Grissom.
Tyler O’Neill was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals, presumably to fill Verdugo’s void in the outfield, and the veteran Giolito signed a two-year, $35 million deal to head to Fenway.
Closer Liam Hendriks, who beat Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma after being diagnosed in January 2023, also signed a two-year deal worth $10 million, though he is still dealing with Tommy John surgery recovery from Aug. 2.
With the AL East expected to be even more competitive this season, the Red Sox’s expectations for the 2024 campaign are not high.
That’s something players like Devers, who has a World Series ring from 2018 and most recently reached the ALCS in 2021, don’t want to hear. It’s the reality, though, for this season.
And though Devers said he won’t divulge too much, he said enough to point out player frustration with how the offseason has gone in Boston.
