{"id":108103,"date":"2025-10-06T19:03:03","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T23:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=108103"},"modified":"2025-10-06T19:03:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T23:03:51","slug":"red-sox-end-of-season-press-conference-covered-many-topics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/10\/06\/red-sox-end-of-season-press-conference-covered-many-topics\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Sox End of Season Press Conference: Rotation, Power, Defense, and More"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOSTON \u2014 The Boston Red Sox held their end-of-season press conference Monday at Fenway Park. Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow<\/a>, manager Alex Cora<\/a>, and president Sam Kennedy<\/a> spoke. Questions zeroed in on the team’s glaring weaknesses despite a respectable 89-73 season. The Wild Card Series loss<\/a> at the hands of the New York Yankees exposed flaws in key areas. Reporters dug into starting pitching, defense, power, and payroll amid a postseason flop.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jul 14, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora watches from the dugout during the third inning against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Main Takeaways from Monday’s Red Sox End-of-Season Press Conference<\/h2>\n

Crochet, Then Who?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Questions on starting pitching arose from a rotation that crumbled late outside of ace Garrett Crochet<\/a>. The staff posted a 3.70 ERA overall, good for third in the American League. Crochet dominated with a 2.59 ERA over an MLB-leading 205 innings. Yet depth faltered. Brayan Bello<\/a> had his best season yet (3.35 ERA), but struggled in September with a 5.40 ERA. Lucas Giolito<\/a> did his job, posting a 3.41 ERA in 145 innings, but will likely not be back in 2026. Breslow addressed the need for a true No. 2 starter.<\/a> He said, \u201cI think we want to build the best rotation we possibly can.\u201d Breslow added, \u201cYou can\u2019t only rely on the pitching you have in-house as well.\u201d Cora highlighted Boston\u2019s young arms\u2019 promise. He said, \u201cThe thing that excites me is the pitching. What we have in player development now is real.\u201d The group vowed aggression in the trade market, as well as free agency. Postseason woes fueled the urgency. Starters outside of Crochet yielded five earned runs in six innings against New York.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Craig Breslow when asked if the Red Sox need a No. 2 starter behind Garrett Crochet:<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we wanna build the best rotation we possibly can. At times through the year, you could say Bello pitched like a number two, because he did. Giolito pitched like a number two, because\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/NAdVUG3q0N<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 John Martinello (@martinello_john) October 6, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n