Craig Breslow Has One Job This Winter — Find a Damn No. 2 Starter
Vegas, Pitching Desperation, and the Annual Ritual of “Please Don’t Let Lucas Giolito Be the Plan Again”
Your Boston Red Sox are officially elbow-deep in Hot Stove season, and Craig Breslow has entered his natural winter habitat: desperately hunting for pitching like a dad searching for batteries on Christmas Eve.
The GM Meetings are happening in Las Vegas this week — because nothing says “responsible baseball operations” like gathering 30 executives in a city specifically designed to separate idiots from their payroll flexibility — and every team is now in the “light flirting” stage of offseason negotiations.
And for the Red Sox, the mission is clear:
They need a No. 2 starter behind Garrett Crochet.
Not a maybe. Not a project.
A real, breathing, sweaty, playoff-worthy starter.
Because as much as we’d all love to pretend that the 2025 rotation was “fine,” the reality is that when the postseason lights hit, Boston ran out of bullets faster than an action movie henchman.
The Rotation Problem Nobody Can Ignore
Garrett Crochet Was an Ace. Everyone Else Was a Collection of Maybes.
Let’s give credit where it’s due:
Garrett Crochet turned into a monster.
A true ace. A baseball war machine. You get the idea.
Brayan Bello was solid — 11-9, 3.35 ERA, the best season of his career. Lucas Giolito rebounded nicely: 10-4, 3.41 ERA before his elbow bailed on him like a guy sneaking out of a Tinder date.
But when push came to shove?
Bello melted down at Yankee Stadium in the Wild Card Series.
Giolito couldn’t pitch because his elbow played Uno and hit “reverse.”
Rookie Connelly Early was thrown into the fire out of pure necessity, not design.
And Crochet — God bless him — couldn’t start all three games.
Boston didn’t enter October with a rotation.
They entered with a rotation-shaped idea.
And Breslow finally said it out loud.
Breslow: “We’re Not Shopping for a No. 4. We’re Shopping for a Horse.”
Translation: Enough With the Dumpster Dives.
In a rare moment of candid clarity, Breslow stepped to the mic in Vegas and basically said:
“We are done signing back-end starters. I want someone who can actually pitch in October.”
A miracle.
Actual honesty from a front office member.
He continued:
The Sox feel good about their depth.
They like their options from 3 through… 10?! (which is hilarious — who has ten starters?)
What they don’t have is a true playoff-level No. 2.
And they’re not wasting time pretending that’s fine.
This isn’t about filling innings.
This is about winning playoff games.
That’s the difference between:
Signing a guy like Martín Pérez (no thank you), and
Trading for someone who actually terrifies hitters.
The Options: From “Dream Scenario” to “Well, I Guess That Might Work”
The Sox Are Shopping at the Top Shelf — Finally.
The offseason wishlist reads like a mix of fantasy and realism:
DREAM SCENARIO: Tarik Skubal
Cy Young runner-up.
Strikeout machine.
A lefty demon.
The Tigers would ask for your firstborn.
REALISTIC TRADE: Joe Ryan
A stylish mustache, elite control, playoff poise.
Minnesota might listen — if the Sox offer something real.
FREE AGENT CHAOS: Framber Valdez or Dylan Cease
A pair of high-end arms who could slot right behind Crochet.
Will they cost money?
Yes.
Should Boston care?
Also yes — but you never know with this ownership group.
Breslow doesn’t need depth. He needs firepower.
Someone who makes opposing lineups rethink their life choices.
Remember the 2025 Playoffs? The Red Sox Did Not Have a Plan.
This Is Why They’re Doing This.
Let’s revisit the postseason trauma:
Game 1: Crochet dominates.
Game 2: Bello implodes at Yankee Stadium (2.1 IP, 4 hits, 1 HR, 1 BB).
Game 3: Connelly Early is forced into meaningful playoff innings because the universe enjoys torment.
All of this happened because Lucas Giolito got hurt at the worst possible time — a sentence that has followed him since 2019.
The Sox then let Giolito walk, declining a qualifying offer because, let’s be honest, nobody on Earth pays QO money for a pitcher who’s broken twice a decade.
This is how you know Breslow’s serious.
They must pair Crochet with another playoff-level arm.
No “let’s wait and see.”
No “maybe Kutter Crawford figures it out.”
No “let’s hope the elbow doesn’t explode again.”
They need someone who can win Game 2 of a playoff series.
The Trade Market: Which Kids Are Going to Detroit Minnesota?
Breslow Loves a Good Blockbuster… Once in a While.
Breslow didn’t directly say he’d trade the farm again, but he did give a huge wink.
He referenced the four-prospect deal that landed Crochet and said, very diplomatically:
It worked.
It might be the right move again.
But they don’t want to make a habit of emptying the farm every winter.
Translation:
“We’ll trade prospects — but only if the return is filthy.”
This is why guys like Skubal and Ryan are even being whispered.
Because the Sox believe their window has opened.
And Breslow’s not about to waste Crochet’s prime years babysitting mid-level starters.
But Don’t Get It Twisted: The Sox Won’t Be Stupid
No More “Four Prospects for a Maybe” Deals
Breslow made something else clear:
He’s not going to become Dave Dombrowski 2.0.
There’s a difference between:
Pulling wins forward (his words), and
Slamming your farm system into a wood chipper just to roll the dice.
So Boston will stay flexible:
They’ll talk trades.
They’ll talk free agency.
They’ll run analytics.
They’ll see if any front office is drunk enough in Vegas to say yes to something weird.
But they won’t bankrupt the system — not unless the return is a real weapon.
The Big Picture: For the First Time in Years, the Sox Have a Vision
And That Vision Includes Actual Pitching. What a Concept.
You can criticize Craig Breslow for many things:
Talking like he ate a thesaurus for breakfast
Drafting pitchers who became relievers
Being allergic to personality
But one thing is clear:
He knows Boston cannot win anything meaningful without a dominant top of the rotation.
Not “depth.”
Not “innings eaters.”
Not “bounce-back candidates.”
A true No. 2.
Boston enters 2026 with:
An ace (Crochet)
A strong No. 3 (Bello)
Intriguing pieces behind them
A desperate need for the missing puzzle piece
And Breslow is hunting it — aggressively.
Final Word: The Sox Mean Business This Winter
Expect Big Names. Expect Big Offers. Expect Big Noise.
Whether it’s:
Skubal
Ryan
Cease
Valdez
Or someone we’re not even talking about yet
The Red Sox are signaling one thing:
“We’re done pretending our rotation is fine.”
No more bargain-bin specials.
No more patch jobs.
No more praying the bullpen can cover five innings every night.
This winter is about firepower.
Starters who win playoff games.
Arms that punch tickets.
Pitchers that make October feel possible.
And for once, Boston might actually act like a team that wants to win.