The Boston Red Sox fired their opening salvo of the offseason on Friday, landing former Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers on a four-year, $58-million contract. The signing is the first of what’s expected to be a busy offseason for Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Craig Breslow as he looks to get over the hump that is the wild card round. 

With that lefty slugger officially in the fold, here’s what could be next for the Red Sox. 

As we discussed in the hours after the signing, Bauers is an imperfect fit for the Red Sox roster as currently constructed. Breslow’s next task is to make the pieces fit together. He has a couple of ways to do this. 

The never-ending Red Sox offseason storyline: the outfield logjam. With Bauers in the fold and expected to split reps between first base and designated hitter with Willson Contreras, there is no longer room on the roster or payroll for at least one outfielder, likely Jarren Duran or Masataka Yoshida. 

It’s no secret that the Red Sox want to move on from Duran, who is coming off the worst season of his big-league career. However, his value on the open market after that poor performance is debatable. 

Could Breslow choose to hold Duran and move one of Ceddanne Rafaela or Wilyer Abreu as part of a blockbuster to bring in the superstar the Red Sox have been after since the trade deadline? 

Which brings us to our next area of focus: the middle infield. Breslow has reportedly been pursuing a “long-term solution” at shortstop after veteran Trevor Story has been plagued by injuries and underperformance for much of his Red Sox tenure. 

Breslow has checked in on nearly every shortstop in the game, whether they’re on the market or not. 

After trading three of the organization's top six prospects to land Adley Rutschman at the trade deadline, the Red Sox have a relatively depleted farm system. Any deal to acquire a shortstop would have to include top prospect Franklin Arias, but beyond that, Boston has only one other top-100 prospect: outfielder Justin Gonzales. 

In his media availability ahead of the GM Meetings, Breslow discussed trading from positions of strength to bolster positions of need. If the team cannot find value in Duran, could it part with one of Abreu or Rafaela, along with Arias, to land a superstar shortstop like CJ Abrams?

Losing one of the Gold Glove outfielders would undoubtedly hurt, but landing a star talent like the one they’ve been seeking will require a package that hurts. 

Much of the Red Sox offseason plan has focused on improving the offense, and rightfully so. However, Breslow discussed the need to reinforce some of the team’s pitching depth after dealing from the strength of the organization over the last year. 

Even with Sonny Gray likely departing in free agency, the Red Sox likely won't target Michael King, Freddy Peralta, or other top non-Tarik Skubal pitchers on the free-agent market. Instead, it seems far more likely Breslow will target deals like last offseason's, which saw them acquire then-Washington Nationals prospect Jake Bennett, a pitcher who fits the mold of the arms they’ve been able to elevate. 

With Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Johan Oviedo all returning to full health at the end of the season, it’s certainly lower on the list of priorities. But the team will address pitching depth. 

Whether Breslow finishes all his offseason work before the Dec. 2 lockout remains to be seen, but he still has a lot of work to do before games begin in 2027.