Red Sox

Red Sox fans hoping for a Roki Sasaki Boston jersey under the Christmas tree will likely be dissatisfied.

Although the 23-year-old Japanese top pitcher has already began meeting with MLB teams since being dispatched by his NPB team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, Craig Breslow earlier this month confirmed Alex Speier that Boston has yet to take a seat down with Sasaki and his camp.

“At the moment we are not doing that [have a meeting scheduled]. But I don’t know if that’s final,” Breslow told Speier. “We are obviously committed and would welcome the opportunity to participate in the process and hope we will have the chance to do so.”

Although West Coast MLB teams just like the Dodgers and Padres are considered favorites to sign Sasaki, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo noted that Boston was expected to push for the young right winger's services.

“In the AL, the Red Sox are taking a pitch to the Sasaki team very seriously,” Mayo wrote. “The main selling point may be the story of Japanese pitchers who have had success and positive experiences in Boston: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Uehara and Junichi Tazawa.

“They have an impressive pitching development program and it certainly doesn't hurt if general manager Craig Breslow can talk to him directly (instead of just passing it off to 'the experts'). Breslow also personally scouted Sasaki for one of his starts in Japan in September.”

Sasaki went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA last season in Japan, striking out 129 and striking out 32 in 111 innings. In his 4 seasons with NPB, Sasaki has a 29-15 record with a 2.10 ERA and 505 strikeouts over 394.2 innings.

Aside from Sasaki's age and impressive stats in Japan, the young star is taken into account a top off-season goal as a consequence of his inexpensive price.

Since Sasaki is an “international amateur” slightly than an unrestricted free agent, any team that eventually signs him can have to sign him to a less expensive minor league contract – and never something just like the 12-year, $325 million deal. Dollars from then – 25 Year-old right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed with the Dodgers last offseason.

“According to reports and comments from team officials at various teams, the Yankees, Mets, Cubs and Rangers have met with Sasaki, while the Giants (according to the ) “believe” they’ve met with the right-hander,” Speier wrote.

Red Sox

The Red Sox prolonged a $21.05 million qualifying offer to veteran pitcher Nick Pivetta on Monday while waiving a suggestion for outfielder Tyler O'Neill. Pivetta has until November nineteenth to determine whether to just accept or reject the one-year contract.

O'Neill finished the season with 31 home runs and a .241/.336/.511 slash line, while Pivetta had a 4.14 ERA in 26 starts.

Boston Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow discussed the choice on the GM meeting in San Antonio on Monday.

“We’ve talked pretty openly about our need for pitching and obviously we know Nick very well,” Breslow said told reporters. “This is where we ended up. We’ll see how things develop from here.”

This got here after Breslow commented on an episode of “The Greg Hill Show” in September that the team could never have enough quality pitching.

“I think we definitely saw that he was just dominant at times, and obviously we can analyze the performance in more detail,” Breslow said Monday. “But he’s a guy who has done well in this market – he has all the underlying metrics. He gets a lot of swing-and-miss; He's not going for a walk, boys. He can make people pitch in the strike zone.

“When you think about what a major league starting pitcher needs to be able to do to be successful, he has a lot of those ingredients.”

In addition to Pivetta, 12 other MLB players received qualifying offers on Monday, including Yankees outfielder Juan Soto.

The full list of 13 players who received qualifying offers, in line with ESPN sources:

Juan Soto, New York Yankees
Corbin Burnes, Baltimore
Alex Bregman, Houston
Max Fried, Atlanta
Willy Adames, Milwaukee
Pete Alonso, New York Mets
Anthony Santander, Baltimore
Teoscar Hernández, The…

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 4, 2024

The Red Sox will receive draft pick compensation if Pivetta declines the offer and signs with one other team.

Morning sports update

Craig Breslow's comments on the upcoming trade deadline: Regardless of what the Red Sox actually do on the upcoming MLB transfer deadline on July 30 at 6 p.m., one thing is obvious: Boston Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow is fed up with the best way the discussion has been conducted.

When asked repeatedly which “lane” the Red Sox front office will take – whether buyer or seller – Breslow answered bluntly. Discussion concerning the upcoming deadline with Alex Speier from .

“At some point we have to stop making stupid analogies and turn on the blinker,” he told Speier. “We've played really good baseball the last few months. We've put ourselves in a position where we're going to try to improve the team.”

Given the dearth of offseason investment and a plethora of injuries early within the season, initial expectations for the Red Sox in July were limited. Boston, which has a growing pool of talent on the minor league level, was expected to look to the longer term.

But at 54-47, recent post-All-Star struggles aside, the Red Sox have an actual shot at an AL wild-card spot. The future could also be tighter than prognosticators expected, potentially forcing Breslow to enterprise closer to the client's market.

“We obviously have to think about the future. In a perfect world, we can improve our team for 2024 and also for 2025 and beyond. That's my job,” Breslow explained. “But I think the way things are now, we're looking for ways to improve the club.”

The latest Red Sox manager had two thoughts on what Boston could potentially add.

“I think if we were to get really specific, pitching is always what we're looking for at the deadline, especially with the injuries we're dealing with right now,” Breslow said, listing starters like Garrett Whitlock, Lucas Giolito and several other others.

And despite hopes that Boston will eventually get a few of those players back into the rotation, Breslow reiterated that this can not change the team's desire to sign more pitchers.

Another goal is a right-handed bat, explained Breslow, “since we tend to be left-handed.”

While the precise path Breslow and Boston's management will take is unclear, the overall direction appears to be set: The Red Sox will no less than search for acquisition opportunities.

“The conversations we are having right now are about helping the team.”

useful information: Craig Breslow was originally drafted by the Brewers in 2002. Which future Red Sox starter was chosen by Boston within the second round that 12 months?

(Answer below).

Note: He was a five-time All-Star and won three World Series during his profession (two with the Red Sox, one later with the Cubs).

Results and fixtures:

The Red Sox were crushed by the Rockies on Wednesday with a rating of 20:7. Boston now turns the page and starts tomorrow evening at 7:10 p.m. in a three-game series against the Yankees at Fenway Park.

The Patriots proceed their training camp and rookie quarterback Drake Maye is considered one of those that will provide some highlights on the primary day.

More from Boston.com:

Original sounds from the Patriots: Here's a fast take a look at the team's first day of coaching camp.

Alex Cora's thoughts on signing a contract extension: The Red Sox have announced that Cora will stay on a three-year contract extension.

On this present day: In 2019, the Red Sox defeated the Yankees 19-3 It was Boston's best offensive performance within the history of its legendary rivalry with New York.

Xander Bogaerts went 4-for-6 with two home runs and 4 RBIs.

Daily highlight: Drake Mayes' outstanding game from the primary day of coaching camp.