Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was unusually forthright at the general managers meetings when asked about his team’s need, saying repeatedly that the club is intent on adding a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher and a power bat in the middle of the lineup this winter. He was more circumspect, though, when it came to potentially re-signing Alex Bregman.
Throughout four days at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Breslow seemed to raise expectations about what the Red Sox will accomplish this winter while, purposefully or not, lowering expectations about a potential reunion with Bregman, who is a free agent for the second straight year after opting out of his contract. Citing a desire to not discuss specific targets, Breslow repeatedly declined to even concede the club’s interest in re-signing Bregman publicly. It might have been an effort to be consistent and not discuss any potential targets in a forward-facing matter. Or it could have been a tacit way of the chief baseball officer acknowledging that Bregman’s return isn’t necessarily the fait accompli many have long believed it is.
“I’m going to stop short of talking about individual pursuits,” Breslow said in his opening media session Monday night. “We recognize what he has done for us. We also recognize what he could potentially do for us.”
Bregman’s market is in the early stages but it’s known he’s seeking a long-term deal that might be the last of his career. Teams like the Mariners, Tigers, Cubs and others loom as potential suitors. A year ago, Detroit and Chicago were among the teams who made aggressive bids for Bregman before he signed a “bridge” contract with Boston. It’s expected those teams are involved again.
“He’s a great player,” Tigers ace and Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal said Thursday at the MLB Awards show. “I’d love to play with him, obviously. Hopefully, we can do it again (pursue him) this year. I know he’s a free agent again. I’d love to be teammates with him. He’s a great player and he’d bring a lot to our club, for sure.”
On Thursday, as the meetings concluded, Breslow once again deflected a question about Bregman, noting that the Red Sox are “open-minded” about improving their roster, with or without their All-Star third baseman.
“I’m not going to speak to specifics,” Breslow said. “He filled a big role for us, certainly on the field — and the injury diminished what he was able of contributing on the field — but we saw what he’s capable of doing in the way that he solidified our infield defense, the presence in the middle of the order, but also just the impact that he had on the clubhouse, the track record of success and being a proven winner, I think it had an effect on the rest of the clubhouse.
“Now we’ve got to evaluate how we best improve our roster in 2026 and we’ll be very open-minded about what that could look like.”
A year ago, a Red Sox contingent including Breslow and manager Alex Cora flew to southern California to meet with top free agents represented by Scott Boras, including Juan Soto and Bregman. There, the pursuit of Bregman began in earnest. It’s unclear if Bregman plans to hold similar meetings with clubs this year; Breslow said Thursday there is value in meeting with agents and players in person to get a sense of what’s important to them.
Boras, for his part, expressed interest in getting Bregman back to Boston. His answer on the matter, of course, included puns.
“In Boston, we learned a lot about Bregman in ‘25,” Boras said Wednesday. “Because in Boston prior to ’25 they had a lot of lineup donut holes and certainly prior to ’25, Boston has been kind of a club that has dunkin’ well below the playoff line. So I think it was a bad roast in Beantown. Give the owners credit in ’25. They went out, spent some Starbucks to bring in a Bregman blend that led them to the playoffs. I’m sure the Boston fans don’t want this to be just a cup of coffee and no one wants a Breg-xit.”
It comes as no surprise that Breslow and his team of lieutenants — which included Eddie Romero, Mike Groopman, Taylor Smith and Brian O’Halloran — departed Las Vegas not having made a move Thursday afternoon. Around the league, no free agents of consequence have signed yet and the trades that happened during the GM Meetings were small ones.
Action rarely happens at the GM Meetings but teams use the event to feel out each other’s needs while meeting with agents to establish early lines of communication. Tuesday’s deadline for free agents to accept the qualifying offer might spur some action. For now, though everything — including Bregman’s free agency, which is expected to include a number of aggressive suitors — is in its early stages.
“It seems to me that these meetings, in some ways, are symbolic of kicking off the offseason in earnest,” Breslow said. “It’s the transition from thinking about internal matters, staffing and hiring to thinking about players and roster construction. But it’s a great chance to get together with leaders of other organizations and start to lay the groundwork and have conversations about offseason strategy and outlook.
“You at least start to think about concepts and understand what other teams are looking for and maybe prioritizing. And then those conversations will continue getting traction and momentum leading into the winter meetings, it seems. And then just kind of first opportunity to interface with agents and talk a little bit more specifically about players. I think a lot of information gathering and groundwork more so than taking things across the finish line.”
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