As was the case a year ago, the Red Sox have taken a deliberate approach to the offseason.
Last year, that produced a lot of anxiety for the fan base. The Sox were coming off a last-place finish and there was a lot of improvement needed for the roster. Eventually, the Red Sox made some modest signings and responded with a 92-win season and a trip to the ALCS.
This winter, the needs aren't as widespread, but there are definitely areas in need of an upgrade. Notable among them: the rotation and the bullpen.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said earlier this week that the Sox had "touched base with a wide variety of players -- just about everyone who's on the market,'' but added that the timetable for signing players was flexible.
"In any offseason,'' said Bloom, "you see players and teams acting on different timetables because of what is appropriate for them...For me, it doesn't matter when during the offseason things happen. What matters is making the right moves. That's what we're focused on and you can't always control the timing of when things happen, whether it's free agents, whether it's trades. Ideally, we get to the starting gate with a roster that we're most comfortable with, with a feeling that we made the most of the offseason.
"But the order in which those moves happen in the offseason and the timing? That changes every year and it's ultimately not something that matters at the end of the day.''
Well, yes and no.
Bloom is correct in saying that the important thing is to acquire the necessary pieces -- regardless of timing.
But even in the last full week of November, some options have already come off the table.
So far, the Sox have been outbid on some targets. Their own free-agent starter, Eduardo Rodriguez, took a five-year, $77-million deal from the Detroit Tigers. Justin Verlander elected to remain with the Houston Astros on a one-year $25 million contract with a player option for the same salary for 2023. And late Tuesday night, the Sox lost out on lefty Steve Matz, who grabbed a four-year, $44 million offer from the St. Louis Cardinals.
Precisely how much the Sox had prioritized any of the aforementioned targets is uncertain. It's known that, in addition to making Rodriguez a qualifying offer, the Sox had made at least one multi-year offer. They had also made an offer for Verlander, presumably for one year, and according to an industry source, had made a multi-year offer on Matz.
Missing out on those three is hardly calamitous for the Red Sox. There's a long list of attractive free-agent starters still available, to say nothing of a host of potential trade targets.
But the Sox' insistence on moving cautiously could further impact them over the next week. Some pitchers who've already signed -- including Noah Syndergaard and Matz -- were known to be intent on signing before the current collective bargaining agreement expires at midnight on Dec. 1. Some players do not want to be in limbo if, as expected, owners lock out the players beginning Dec. 2, bringing the offseason to a standstill when it comes to transactions.
In that regard, more players may be eager to resolve their free agency in the next week. How responsive the Sox are to that urgency is unclear.
In his first two winters since joining the Sox, Bloom has, intentionally or not, been most active in the weeks leading up to the start of spring training, or even after spring training is underway.
Last January 25, he obtained Adam Ottavino from the Yankees. In February, shortly before the start of camp, he dealt off Andrew Benintendi to Kansas City, signed free agents Marwin Gonzalez, Martin Perez and Hirokazu Sawamura.
The year before, Bloom pulled off his most explosive move -- the massive Mookie Betts trade -- in mid-February.
So it's clear that Bloom is not averse to waiting out the market. This winter, that strategy may be more likely. In the event of a lockout, a new CBA might not be in place until late January or early February, which would create a compressed, manic period in the few weeks leading up to the planned opening of spring training camps.
Under that scenario, Bloom might be in an enviable position of not having spent much of his budget with a class of free agents desperate to get a deal done. Such a market could create some bargains for patient teams, including a reduced asking price for some of the remaining elite free agents.
By the time a new CBA is in place, the Red Sox -- and every other organization -- will have some certainty about the CBT, payroll thresholds, the universal DH and other elements of a new agreement that could impact team-building this year and going forward.
But that could be a while. And in the meantime, the team's cautious approach is resulting in some frustration.