Red Sox Want At Least 7 New Players; Still "Engaged" With Xander Bogaerts

The Boston Red Sox apparently have some big plans this offseason, hopefully starting at the Winter Meetings. According to numerous Boston reporters, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom says they're "still engaged with" Xander Bogaerts, and they want to add many players this offseason. Not one, not two, not three...

Chaim Bloom just got into specifics about Boston’s off-season plan. He repeatedly said Red Sox want to add 7, 8 or 9 players to build a contender in 2023. That includes another reliever, another starter and position players.

— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) December 5, 2022

Bloom says he wants to add "7, 8 or 9 players" to build the Sox into a contender for the coming season. 

Plans hopefully include not only re-signing Bogaerts, but also adding several pitchers and several position players. Can it be done?

"This is going to be a process of adding seven, eight, nine, maybe more players to the group we had after ‘22 to build the team we want to have, that has both impact and depth,” said Bloom.

"On the pitching side of things, wanting to add multiple arms to the bullpen. Hopefully, at least three, and maybe more if we see the opportunities there, to add a starting pitcher, and on top of that, if good opportunities are there, we’re not going to stop at that,” Bloom said.

“On the position player side, obviously shortstop is our biggest question,” he added. “Even outside of that, we want to add a couple bats to this lineup... I’d expect that by the end of this, we’ll have added three, four, maybe more position players."

As for their 4-time All-Star shortstop, Bloom said about Bogaerts that “it was clear he was going to fully explore the market... It’s his right. This is the first time he has ever exercised that right. He can and should do that fully. As that’s happening, we’re staying engaged with him and being part of that process."

Photo: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports