MLB Rumors: Cubs-Snell mystery, Braves betrayal, Red Sox wave white flag

MLB Rumors: Red Sox waving the white flag on free agency?

When the Boston Red Sox hired Craig Breslow to step into the shoes of the much-maligned Chaim Bloom as the top decision-maker in the front office, fans were filled with excitement? And why wouldn't they have been? Breslow's arrival came with a promise of a "full-throttle" offseason in which a contender would be built.

Months later, full-throttle has become more of a dig than an apt description of the Red Sox offseason.

Boston has made some moves, to be sure. They inked veteran starting pitcher Lucas Giolito, shuffled the outfield by trading Alex Verdugo to the rival Yankees for a host of pitching prospects before then trading for Tyler O'Neill, but also traded Chris Sale to fill the hole at second base with former Braves top prospect Vaughn Grissom.

For a club that desperately needed to improve the starting pitching this offseason, though, the Red Sox have fallen woefully short, missing on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shota Imanaga, and several others. The optimist would, however, say that Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell are still available in free agency, while there are still intriguing trade options like Dylan Cease, Corbin Burnes, Shane Bieber and even Jesus Luzardo to explore.

Unfortunately, that doesn't look like it's happening either for the Red Sox. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe ($) reported that it doesn't seem like Breslow and the front office are going to go all-in with the big-money deal for the top free agnets on the starter market or in a trade either:

"While it hasn’t been ruled out entirely, sources continue to characterize the Sox as unlikely to make the sort of deep-end, long-term plunge needed to land lefthanders Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, the top two free-agent starters left on the market... The Sox are open to deal-making, but there’s little sense they’ll push in the chips to land an established top-of-the-rotation starter either via trade or free agency. Further additions appear more likely to the middle or back of the rotation to improve depth and reliability."

Sure, the Red Sox aren't just going to go into the 2024 season with no more moves according to this report, but it feels like a white flag being waved. Barring a massive change, there won't be a star coming to Boston, despite vague allusions with full-throttle and otherwise that would be the case this offseason.

Perhaps this is part of the plan for a longer-term rebuild of what Bloom did. But it's sure to leave a sour taste in the mouths of Red Sox fans after what was promised.