Photo by Uta Rademacher/picture alliance via Getty Images Stove is heating up Happy Monday. For anyone partaking in Cyber Monday the standard Shohei Ohtani or Craig Breslow image has been replaced with something that matched a search for “cyberspace.” Kenta Maeda signed with the Detroit Tigers over the weekend. The St. Louis Cardinals are “close” to adding Sonny Gray to their rotation. Still waiting on the first big offseason move for the Red Sox. With the Winter Meetings taking place next week, the stove should get hot pretty fast! Talk about what you want and be good to one another ..read more

Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images Plus, time to say goodbye to JBJ While Aaron Nola appeared to be an enticing free agent option for a team that has sorely lacked reliable innings from the starting rotation for two years in a row, the Red Sox were not “meaningfully involved” in the bidding. This may mean nothing more than that the Sox got wind of Nola’s intentions early (he clearly wanted to stay in Philadelphia and took less money than was offered by the Braves and Dodgers to do so), but on the other hand, it may tell us something about Craig Breslow’s priorities. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe ..read more

Photo by Gaelen Morse/Getty Images At just 24, Brayan Bello was a consistent anchor in the Red Sox rotation and one of the best groundball artists in the game. The Red Sox hope that’s just the beginning. 2023 In One Sentence In his first full season in the Red Sox rotation, Brayan Bello more than held his own, producing a slightly above average campaign (depending on your metric of choice) powered by a stellar changeup, an elite groundball rate, and an ace-like run in May and June. The Positives When the Red Sox finished off a 4-2 victory over the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers o ..read more

Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports As a Sox fan, I’m thankful for two main things right now. It’s already the day after Thanksgiving, but it’s never too late to express thanks. Even as we collectively move on to Black Friday, I wanted to be sure to say that I’m thankful for two main things as a Red Sox fan right now. I’m thankful for Craig Breslow and the fresh start that he brings to our team. It’s still early days, so his track record is limited, but there’s reason for optimism. His earliest moves are intended to bolster our pitching: he declined Corey Kluber’s option, protected pitchers Wikel ..read more

Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images Plus, Andrew Bailey is finally official. We’re still not sure why it took so long, but the Andrew Bailey hiring was finally made official. The new Red Sox pitching coach spoke to the media via Zoom and talked a little about his philosophy (throw strikes), his friendship with CBO Craig Breslow, and why he chose Boston over a number of other opportunities. (Julian McWilliams, Boston Globe) Will Andrew Bailey get a chance to work with Yoshinobu Yamamoto? We can only hope. While we wait for further news on his posting, here’s a scouting report from a source who’s se ..read more

Michelle Hutchins / USA TODAY NETWORK Almost Thanksgiving Happy Wednesday. Andrew Bailey is officially hired. The 40 man roster has been set for the Rule 5 draft. The Winter Meetings are upcoming. There will be some quiet in the days ahead - unless we get a Turkey Day deal - and then things get real fast. Dave Dombrowski signing Aaron Nola may have freed the pitching market to start earlier than anyone expected. The Red Sox have plenty of options out there still...fingers crossed for 2024 to be better. Talk about what you want and be good to one another ..read more

Photo by Daniel Shirey/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images Happy Tuesday. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was officially posted and his career so far is impressive. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will reportedly be posted today. His stats over 7 seven NPB seasons: 967.2 IP 1.72 ERA 0.915 WHIP 9.2 SO/9 6.2 H/9 4.56 SO/W pic.twitter.com/9HxAkbrU8X — Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) November 20, 2023 Will Craig Breslow have the ace over for Thanksgiving dinner, a tactic the Red Sox have used in the past? Probably not, but he’s sure going to be interested. Imagine Yamamoto at the front of the rotation with maybe anothe ..read more

Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports Chris Martin was Boston’s most reliable reliever in 2023. What happens in 2024? 2023 In One Sentence Chris Martin joined Boston’s bullpen and was a fantastic eighth-inning, high leverage option. The Positives One of the most well-received offseason moves made by former Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom (doesn’t it feel great to read that?) saw then-36-year-old reliever Chris Martin head to Boston on a 2 year, $13 million deal following a successful 2022 outing with the Cubs and Dodgers. (His resume also includes time with the Rockies, Yankees, his hometown Rang ..read more

The phenom is expected to be posted today. Today is (probably) the day that Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto is officially posted by the Orix Buffaloes, his current employer and the former employer of Red Sox left fielder Masataka Yoshida. At that point, he’ll have 45 days to negotiate a contract with a Major League team. MLB.com has created a clearinghouse site for all rumors related to his free(ish) agency. (MLB.com) To the extent that there are any concerns about how Yamamoto will translate to the North American game, they usually center around his size, as he stands at just 5 feet 10 in ..read more

He looks like a lockdown reliever, at least. Who is he and where did he come from? He’s Isaiah Campbell, and he’s from Portugal! And by Portugal I’m not talking about Fall River, here, but the actual Portugal on the other side of the ocean. His father was stationed there while in the Air Force (sure beats South Dakota), and he was born in the Azorean city of Angra do Heroísmo. That literally translates to “Bay of Heroism,” so my expectations will be pretty high the next time he comes in to face the heart of the order with two on and nobody out in the eighth. The Red Sox just acquired him from ..read more