What Are Red Sox’s Three Biggest Needs This Offseason?

The Boston Red Sox’s offseason is officially underway, and the team has considerable work to do this winter if it wants to return to the playoffs and build on a successful 2025.

The Red Sox have several pressing needs this offseason, all of which were exposed during their postseason loss to the New York Yankees. Here are the three biggest ones Craig Breslow’s front office should focus on.

One is starting pitching. Boston simply ran out of starting pitching by the end of the season, forcing Alex Cora to start rookie Connelly Early in Game 3 at Yankee Stadium.

The Red Sox tried to address this at the trade deadline by exploring trades for Joe Ryan and others, but ultimately settled for Dustin May, who had mixed results before getting hurt. Boston still needs another frontline starter to slot in behind Garrett Crochet and give the rotation some depth, especially if Lucas Giolito’s club option isn’t picked up.

Trading for Ryan or signing someone like Dylan Cease would greatly improve the Red Sox’s rotation.

Boston also needs to add a power bat to the middle of its lineup. The Red Sox had two fewer home runs than the MLB average last year and ranked 23rd in big flies after trading Rafael Devers. Boston must replace Devers’ power in the batting order with an elite slugger like Kyle Schwarber or Pete Alonso.

Last but not least, the Red Sox must fix their defense, especially in the infield. They led MLB in errors and catcher’s interference last year and have committed the most errors in baseball over the last three years combined. Sloppy fielding has been an issue for several years now and must be cleaned up.

If Boston does those three things, the team will be much stronger next year and in a much better position to compete for a championship.