Why did Red Sox trade for Johan Oviedo? What’s next at Winter Meetings? (Craig Breslow Q&A)
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Red Sox swung their second significant move of the offseason Thursday night, obtaining starter Johan Oviedo in a five-player trade that sent outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia to Pittsburgh. Craig Breslow’s winter has begun with the additions of Oviedo and Sonny Gray and the Red Sox still have major needs — including an impact bat, and potentially, bullpen additions — as the Winter Meetings get underway in Orlando in the coming days.
Breslow took some time Friday to answer some questions from MassLive via email about the Oviedo trade and more. Some answers been have lightly edited for clarity.
1. Obviously, Johan Oviedo is someone who seems to have big upside but doesn’t have a huge track record in the big leagues. What intrigues you about him and what do you hope to accomplish with him once you get him in your “pitching lab?” People describe him as a depth/back-end starter, but I assume you guys feel there’s reason to believe he could be more?
We see Johan as a guy who was beginning to break out last year toward the end of the season. Unique fastball release characteristics and added carry in his return from TJ (Tommy John). Has the ability to beat guys with the fastball which is a great place to start when you think about a starter’s repertoire.
Sure, he hasn’t yet put it all together in the form of a single dominant season, but that doesn’t mean he can’t or won’t. We’ve seen enough to recognize that he’s got plenty of raw stuff and at 27, there’s development ahead of him.
2. You said earlier in the winter that you were not going to spend a “ton of time” adding arms who wouldn’t be capable of slotting in directly behind Garrett Crochet. After the Sonny Gray deal, was this just a unique opportunity you couldn’t pass up? Does it speak to Oviedo’s ceiling?
This was an opportunity to add three guys that bring intriguing upside to the organization and continue to build our pitching and catching depth. We believe this makes us better, and that there is enough talent that we wanted to execute.
3. Entering the Winter Meetings, are you still looking for a rotation addition? Is a front-end guy still possible at this point? How would you describe your priorities as things currently stand?
Our priorities remain improving our 2026 roster. We have to be open-minded about the ways we can do that, and practical in the sense that we have some position player needs that we’ll want to focus on.
4. Obviously, Jhostynxon Garcia is a guy fans got to know last year and someone the club was intrigued with. What went into the decision to move him, and how much did your outfield surplus play a role in that?
Jhostynxon is a good player who had a breakout season last year and has a really interesting package of tools. That said, we were really excited about the return, feel good about the outfield depth that we have here, and believe that Jhostynxon will go on to have a successful Major League career. He’s a good player and better kid who works hard.
5. Can you take us through the other two players in the deal, Tyler Samaniego and Adonys Guzman, and what you’re getting in them?
Samaniego is someone that we believe can help us in the near-term. He’s got a deep mix against left-handed hitters and has consistently gotten them out at a high clip. He’s also got a (good enough) fastball to hold his own vs (righties). The underlying stuff and performance is strong, and we’re excited about his continued development.
Guzman is somebody we liked as an amateur with a strong defensive profile, good swing decisions and good bat-to-ball skills. He’s somebody we think can thrive in our development system.
6. Are you planning on in-person meetings, either on-site or off-site with specific free agents while in Florida?
We’ll hold off on announcing any intentions in Orlando, outside of recognizing it is always an unpredictable environment.
