Boston’s best offseason pitching acquisition might be its coach

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Boston’s best player this season might be its coach

In the offseason, the Red Sox looked like a team ready to add key players to a rotation that struggled with productivity and durability issues last season.

Free agent Lucas Gilolito is the club’s only signee so far, while Chris Sale traded the talented Von Grissom Braves. As the Red Sox said, they couldn’t get a bigger target than Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a $325 million contract with the Dodgers.

The club is now talking about a season where the individual and collective development of its young marksmen will be key to the team’s overall success. “At the end of the day, it’s going to be [Garrett] Whitlocks, [Kutter] Crawfords, [Tanner] Hooks and [Brian] Bellos,” coach Alex Cora said. “Even if you sign the best pitcher in the world, they have to get better.”

You could also add Josh Winkowski as Cora. That means the team’s biggest addition this winter could be new pitching coach Andrew Bailey, who has earned rave reviews in that role over the past four seasons with the Giants.

When an energetic Bailey spoke at the Red Sox Winter Weekend a few days ago, one thing was clear. He clearly saw how to get the most out of Boston’s pitching staff. “My goal is to set expectations and get the players to meet them as a group,” Bailey said. “And I want us to be seen as, ‘Come to the Boston Red Sox. They know how to play.’ . Bailey said. . “I think if you look at the Giants and the Twins and Seattle and Tampa Bay, we’re going to get there eventually. “If you come to Boston or play for the Red Sox, these guys are going to come at you and hit you with really nasty things and throw you hard in the zone.”

The Red Sox have lost their way as a pitching program in recent years. Bailey plans to restore order. He has no problem expressing his mission statement or his plan to implement it.

“This was clearly done on the spot. We want to teach our pitchers what sets them apart from other pitchers in the league,” Bailey said. “I think pitchers have unique qualities, and I understand that when it comes to pitching, that’s what makes them leaders. It could be a death sentence. Then build relationships and structure in terms of total shots and best throws. “I’m seeing. What happened? It’s something we do in that area as often as possible.” He leaves, looking at everyone’

s low hanging fruit.