The Red Sox may not be completely done with their offseason, as Sean McAdam of MassLive reports that the club remains interested in improving the depth of their left-handed bullpen before the start of the season. McAdam added that Boston intends to have players monitor scouts from other organizations during camp as they conduct their scouting.
That the Red Sox may need more lefty bullpen help isn’t a shocker. The team is incredibly deep in right-handed bullpen options, with Garrett Whitlock, Justin Slate, Greg Weissertagain Zack Kelly all of whom have already been confirmed for roles and a host of unsigned invitees incl Vinny Nittoli, Kyle Keller, Osvaldo Bidoagain Hobie Harris. From the left side, however, Boston has only three reliable options: Aroldis Chapman, Jovani Moranagain Tyler Samaniego. Chapman, of course, is confined to a closer role. That leaves only Moran and Samaniego as an option to use the lefty matchup before the ninth inning. Moran has only four innings of work at the major league level over the past two years, while Samaniego has yet to make a major league start.
As logical as it would be for a team to look to add more lefty bullpen help, the Red Sox seem willing to do so on their own terms alone. McAdam notes that the club is not clear on the club’s top left-back prospects, Payton Tolle again Connelly Earlyconsideration will be given to advancing to the senior bull division. Both Tolle and Early are currently out of Boston’s deep rotation on paper, but it’s not hard to see why the team would choose to keep them extended in Triple-A, where they won’t need to adjust to a new role and won’t accumulate big league service time.
Accordingly, McAdam indicates that the team has little interest in adding a free agent to a major league contract right now. Experienced, major league southpaws including veterans Danny Coulombe again Jalen Beeks they remain available in free agency, but McAdam suggests that those free agents are still holding out for big deals. Perhaps that situation could change in the coming weeks as Spring Training drags on, but for now that seems to leave the Red Sox looking at waiver claims and trade additions.
Few clubs will willingly sacrifice relief depth at this point in the calendar given the potential for injuries in their bullpen before Opening Day. That being said, there are some options that are clearly available. Ryan Borucki (White Sox), Cionel Perez (Nations), Tyler Saucedo (Angels), Cam Booser (Radiation), and Genesis Cabrera (Phillies) is among the notable undrafted invitees to other camps this spring who may not be able to find a spot with their current team. Currently, Tyler Gilbert (White Sox) and Ryan Rolison (The Cubs) are among the remaining 40 players who can opt out or be waived at some point this spring.
Another possibility worth mentioning is the Cardinals lefty JoJo Romero. Romero has been a popular trade candidate throughout the offseason, and while at this point he appears to be the favorite to work as a St. Louis closer to 2026, the rebuilding Cardinals traded every other free agent from their 2025 roster this winter except for the southpaw. It makes sense that baseball president Chaim Bloom would part ways with Romero in the right deal, and a mutually beneficial trade. Sonny Gray again Wilson Contreras from St. Louis to Boston earlier this winter shows that Bloom and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow are comfortable working together.
