There was little action at the Aria Resort and Casino otherwise. But what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas in this case.
“I think in a lot of ways groundwork [was] laid, a bunch of conversations had, and we’ll see where things go in the next couple weeks,” Breslow said.
In a typical offseason, teams would pick up those conversations a few weeks later at the Winter Meetings. But with the lockout set to start on Dec. 1, there will be ample motivation to close deals sooner.
That was true before the lockout that started in 2021, and executives and agents believe that will be again.
The Sox could be at the fulcrum of that action. They have a surplus of outfielders and enough rotation candidates to be involved in trade talks at all levels. Their group of young major league players under team control beyond a year or two sparked plenty of discussion during the meetings.
“Definitely conversations that will continue,” Breslow said. “I’d also hesitate to say we know for sure where they’ll end up.”
I asked Breslow if signing a notable free agent would require him to subtract from the payroll.
“Obviously not going to get into kind of what the nuts and bolts of the transactions might look like,” Breslow said. “What I would say is, I intend to act consistent with other years, which is to do everything that we can to identify paths to helping our team get better, and then taking those to ownership.”
Breslow said such requests have been granted before. A player such as Jake Bauers, who is a free agent after hitting 26 home runs and driving in 86 runs for the Brewers, would fit the Sox’ need for a designated hitter.
Bauers is also a solid first baseman, which would allow the Sox to use Willson Contreras, who turns 35 in May, as a DH more than the two times he did last season.
A healthy Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony should improve the Sox even if they only work around the edges of the roster. Anthony has to show he can stay on the field, but he has 4.7 bWAR over 126 career games.
There’s also room for improvement from Gold Glove outfielders Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela.
“With Ceddanne, we talk all the time about when he is at his best, and he’s reducing [chasing pitches], and the overall swing rate is down,” Breslow said. “He’s always going to have the defensive floor that makes him incredibly valuable. But when he’s shrinking the zone a little bit, he’s a really, really dynamic offensive player, as well.
With Abreu, the focus is more on consistency.
“This is a guy who gets as hot as anybody in baseball and can carry a team for weeks at a time,” Breslow said. “If we can kind of minimize the downturns, he’s got a chance [to be even better].”
The Sox also see them taking on a bigger role in terms of clubhouse leadership.
“I do feel good about the team. I think you feel a lot better as guys get healthy,” Breslow said. “But you look around the diamond, and we’ve got major league players at every position that are capable of competing for the division and helping us get to where we want to accomplish.
“I have to balance that with the reality that we hadn’t been good enough for the last two years. … That’s what I mean when I talk about needing to be kind of flexible and open-minded in terms of how we can improve, because it isn’t as clear as other seasons.”
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.
