After finishing 2024 with an 81-81 record, the Red Sox rose from their lengthy slumber to once again assert themselves as a force in the offseason market with substantial upgrades all around the roster. Will it be enough to get back to the postseason?
Major League Signings
- Alex Bregman, 3B: Three years, $120MM (deferrals knock NPV to roughly $95.1MM, deal includes opt-outs after first two seasons)
- Walker Buehler, SP: One year, $21.05MM
- Aroldis Chapman, RP: One year, $10.75MM
- Patrick Sandoval, SP: Two years, $18.25MM
- Justin Wilson, RP: One year, $2.25MM
2025 spending: $79.55MM
Total spending: $172.3MM
Option Decisions
- Lucas Giolito, SP: Exercised $19MM player option
- Rob Refsnyder, OF: Team exercised $2.1MM club option
Trades and Waiver Claims
- Acquired SP Garrett Crochet from the White Sox for minor league C Kyle Teel, minor league OF Braden Montgomery, minor league INF Chase Meidroth, and minor league SP Wikelman Gonzalez
- Acquired C Carlos Narvaez from the Yankees for minor league SP Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz and international bonus pool space
- Traded INF Enmanuel Valdez to the Pirates for minor league RP Joe Vogatsky
- Traded RP Cam Booser to the White Sox for minor league SP Yhoiker Fajardo
- Acquired RP Jovani Moran from the Twins for C/INF Mickey Gasper
- Acquired C Blake Sabol from the Giants for international bonus pool space
- Traded RP Chase Shugart to the Pirates for minor league RP Matt McShane
- Traded RP Noah Davis to the Dodgers for cash
Notable Minor League Signings
- Austin Adams, Matt Moore, Sean Newcomb, Adam Ottavino (later released), Robert Stock, Abraham Toro, Trayce Thompson, Seby Zavala
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Cam Booser, Noah Davis, Luis Garcia, Mickey Gasper, Wikelman Gonzalez, Bailey Horn (waivers), Danny Jansen, Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, Chase Meidroth, Braden Montgomery, Tyler O'Neill, James Paxton, Nick Pivetta, Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, Lucas Sims, Chase Shugart, Kyle Teel, Naoyuki Uwasawa, Enmanuel Valdez
After four straight seasons without a playoff berth, the Red Sox entered the winter with plenty of positive signs. Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and Richard Fitts looked like an enviable nucleus of young rotation talent under team control, while Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu enjoyed breakout seasons in the outfield. With the best young talent, including baseball's #1 prospect Roman Anthony, and three other top-50 talents in Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell, and Kyle Teel knocking on the door, it seemed clear that the time was now for the club to push its chips in and force open a new competitive window.
While there was some skepticism about the club's intentions at the outset of the offseason, particularly after last winter's "full-throttle" comments led to a quiet offseason that brought little new talent into the fold, the club quickly showed itself to be a legitimate threat to spend when it emerged as a surprise finalist for the services of Juan Soto alongside expected contenders like the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, and Blue Jays. The Red Sox ultimately fell short of that pursuit, finishing alongside Toronto ahead of L.A. but behind the two New York teams. Even as Soto landed in Queens, however, Boston's apparent willingness to give out a contract in the range of $700MM made clear they were serious about improving this winter.
In the aftermath of Soto signing elsewhere, the Red Sox had two main priorities to address: adding a big right-handed bat to the lineup, and bringing in an ace (preferably one that throws left-handed) to lead their young but talented pitching staff. Initial attempts to bring in players like Max Fried (who eventually signed in the Bronx) and Teoscar Hernandez (who eventually returned to the Dodgers) fell apart, but the Red Sox didn't let the league's biggest spenders nabbing their top targets stop them from addressing their needs in a big way. During the Winter Meetings, the Red Sox echoed the Chris Sale trade by swinging a blockbuster with the White Sox that saw them surrender a bevy of talented prospects in exchange for an extremely talented southpaw.
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I still don’t love the Bregman signing. But they get an A for effort and a C for execution. Overall B grade.
I still feel like including Teel in the trade will hurt. I hope I’m wrong, but, Blue chip catching prospects aren’t plentiful across MILB right now.
GaSox – Certainly Wong has done nothing to prove you wrong.
Well, he will no longer be available to right a wong…
Am I the only who thinks it’s lazy not to complete the off-season in review series BEFORE the regular season begins. Sloppy.
Yes, you’re the only one.
If they’d waitied a little longer, they could have included Crochet’s extension.
I think they’re blending in the inevitable slowdown in player movement news during the early part of the season.
Tony – One thing they are not is lazy, these guys work their butts off providing a ton of great content.
I think they usually save the Yankees and Red Sox until the end of March for strategic reasons.
This team looks like trash early on. When will we not have an inconsistent offense? I feel like that was worse than our pitching. We would go for terrible stretches of winning games and then losing them and the offense isn’t clutch. It’s feast or famine.
They’re quietly betting their young pitchers—Houck, Bello, Crawford—can carry the rotation cheaper than anyone expects.
Offseason Rating: B+
The Red Sox made some big, smart moves but didn’t fully solve all their problems. They spent $172.3M total, with $79.55M hitting 2025 payroll, grabbing Alex Bregman (3 years, $120M, ~$95.1M net present value) for a right-handed bat and Garrett Crochet via trade for a potential ace—two glaring needs after 2024’s 81-81 finish. Walker Buehler ($21.05M) adds upside, and smaller signings like Aroldis Chapman ($10.75M) and Patrick Sandoval ($18.25M over 2 years) deepen the pitching. They kept young arms like Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, and Kutter Crawford, and prospects like Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer are close. Trading Kyle Teel and others for Crochet stings, but it didn’t gut their top-tier farm system.
The catch? They lost key bullpen pieces (Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin) and Tyler O’Neill’s bat without replacing that relief strength or outfield pop. The rotation looks better—Crochet, Buehler, Giolito ($19M option)—but relies on injury-prone guys stepping up. Bregman’s a win, but shifting Rafael Devers to DH could mess with lineup flexibility. It’s a strong push to compete, not just rebuild, yet the bullpen and depth gaps keep it from an A.
A realistic win range would be around 85-89.
a more realistic win range would be 78-83 and why are fans depending on buehler and lucas giolito?basicaly the sox are just another, down the middle average team.nothing more nothing less.
But they won 81 games last year and they have improved since then.