Red Sox search for big bat (Kyle Schwarber? Pete Alonso?) is clear top priority at Winter Meetings

ORLANDO — At last month’s general managers’ meetings in Las Vegas, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow gave a clear pecking order of offseason priorities. A month later — and with trades completed for starting pitchers Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo — Breslow’s wish list looks a little bit different as the winter meetings get underway in Orlando.

Even with Gray and Oviedo in tow, the Red Sox are not ruling out the possibility of further rotation additions as they continue to preach an open-minded approach to improving their 2026 roster. It’s clear, though, that the club is mainly focused on adding offense, either via free agency or trade.

“We’ve clearly added to the rotation… We haven’t addressed some of the position player needs that we have,” Breslow said. “We still are going to prioritize someone who can hit in the middle of the order and kind of change the overall outlook of the offense.”

While pitchers like Gray, Dylan Cease, Devin Williams and Ryan Helsley have already changed teams, the position player market has been slower to move with virtually every top free agent unsigned. That includes a group of four star free agents who have been linked to the Red Sox in Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette. Another possibility on the trade market exists in the form of Arizona’s Ketel Marte, who is known to be available and is someone the Red Sox have discussed with the Diamondbacks. Top free agent outfielders Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger are also unsigned but would be redundant on Boston’s roster.

In the group of Schwarber, Alonso, Bregman, Bichette and Marte, the Red Sox have five potential targets who present different profiles and positional fits. Schwarber and Alonso are power bats who fit the designated hitter/first base mold. Bregman manned third base admirably in 2025. Bichette and Marte would likely play second base. Each player comes with his own skillset — and price point.

While Boston is clear that it’s playing in the high end of the market for bats, the club is taking an open-minded approach to where their big offensive addition could fit in. Beyond Trevor Story at shortstop, little is settled in the infield with Triston Casas rehabbing from a serious knee injury, Marcelo Mayer able to bounce around the infield and utility options like Romy Gonzalez and Tristan Gray presenting versatile depth. As of now, the Red Sox could add a bopper to play third base, second base, first base or slot in as the DH.

It’s possible the Red Sox add more than one offensive player to fill their needs but Breslow is clearly focused on adding one high-end slugger first.

“I think that just gives us a little bit more latitude when it comes to finding someone who can improve the offense,” Breslow said. “We feel like we’ve got the ability to run out guys in almost any position, so we don’t have to be rigidly anchored to one position.”

Breslow was careful not to get too specific about the traits he’d prefer in a target but did once again mention the importance of adding power to the middle of the order. In Schwarber (56 homers in 2025), Alonso (38) and Marte (28), those players are readily available.

“Home runs are a foolproof way to put runs on the board,” Breslow said. “Typically, that type of profile comes with a trade-off, most often contact ability, which is another area that we feel like we need to improve the identity of the offense.

“At the end of the day, we’re trying to score as many runs as possible. There are a few different paths to doing that. I think that the true middle-of-the-order bat that can hit the ball out of the park probably has outsized impact on the rest of the lineup because of the way that you have to attack someone and the on-base implications it can have.

“We’re going to consider all ways of improving the team. But finding somebody in the middle of the order who hits the ball out of the park is a really good place to start.”

In the halls of the Waldorf Astoria, where executives and agents are meeting this week, there’s a feeling that the dam might soon break with a decision from Schwarber, who is weighing a high-priced return to the Phillies against suitors including the Red Sox, Mets, Reds and Pirates. Alonso is set to arrive at the hotel Tuesday for in-person meetings and the Red Sox are a team that could be on his list. The markets for Bregman and Bichette, who will likely require longer agreements, are less settled at this point, though the Red Sox have been in touch with both as they look to settle different infield spots. Marte’s market is different because the Diamondbacks don’t have to trade him — and have him under team control through 2030.

Breslow reiterated that the Red Sox, who are estimated to have about $18 million to spend before hitting the first competitive balance tax (CBT) threshold of $244 million and about $38 million before the second threshold of $264 million, will be willing to spend if certain opportunities present themselves.

“When there’s been the opportunity to improve the team, especially a team that’s been competitive and one that has hopes of competing deep into the playoffs, ownership has supported investing in it,” Breslow said. “This year is no different. We’ve cast a pretty wide net with respect to how we can improve the team.”

The Red Sox are also open to potentially trading from their glut of outfielders or back-end starting pitchers to improve areas of need. With most of the market still unmoved, no potential paths to improvement have been closed off, even with Gray and Oviedo in tow.

“It’s early enough in the offseason to where it doesn’t make sense to close off any possibility to improve the roster,” Breslow said. “As we accumulate more and more pitching depth, it’ll get harder to see how we can upgrade there relative to the position player needs that we have.

“There’s some really good pitchers out there and if there’s an opportunity to improve the team by adding them, we’re open to it. But I think we need to address some of the needs that we have on the other side of the ball.”