Craig Breslow Affirms Red Sox Remain ‘Aggressive’ In Making This Addition

The Boston Red Sox prepare for spring training this week, but that doesn’t mean they’re done making moves.

Alex Bregman remains the top free agent on the market. The Red Sox are among multiple teams linked to the All-Star third baseman, and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow made it clear what Boston still hopes to add.

“We’re still pursuing a right-handed bat and hopeful we can accomplish that. And then, another opportunity we’ve talked about is adding to the bullpen,” Breslow told reporters at Fort Myers, Fla., on Tuesday, as seen on NESN.

Breslow couldn’t get into specifics about players. The Red Sox also have been linked to a trade for Nolan Arenado or a reunion with Justin Turner. However, Breslow admitted that the market hasn’t played out how many MLB teams expected.

“There’s always some level of surprise, I guess. Unfortunately, we don’t control the timeline exclusively. Obviously, we haven’t lined up on anything yet. We’ll continue to be as aggressive as we can.”

Breslow has been consistent about adding a right-handed bat to the lineup. The Red Sox executive noted last week that Boston hopes to add a “difference-maker” but specified Tuesday what that addition could look like.

“I think there are a few different ways to approach that. Balance takes the shape of someone who’s in the lineup pretty regularly. But also, we’ve seen Alex (Cora) be very aggressive in mixing and matching and using the entire roster. I think we have to be open to all paths that improve the team and don’t want to close any possible pathway.”

Breslow admitted the Red Sox don’t want to make a move just for the sake of making one. But affirmed that the goal is to win as many big league games as possible and the addition of a right-handed power bat could go a long way in achieving that goal.