What Would a Successful Red Sox Offseason Actually Look Like?

Fenway Park, October 2016. Archive photo. Photo: Saalves / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Original photograph; display framing may vary.

OPINION

The easiest way to win the offseason is to hold a press conference. Put a new jersey on somebody, tell us how excited everyone is, and let the cameras take care of the rest. Winning baseball games after the weather gets warm requires considerably more planning.

So before the Red Sox start asking us to evaluate individual transactions, I want to establish what a successful winter should actually accomplish. Otherwise, every signing becomes its own little referendum, and by March we are arguing about whether the last guy through the door was worth the money while forgetting to ask whether the entire team makes sense.

My standard is straightforward: Boston needs to leave this winter with fewer places where its plan depends on everything breaking right.

Write down nine names. Assign each one a position. Then write down who plays when one of those names cannot.

It sounds almost insultingly basic. But it is a useful way to separate an attractive collection of players from a complete roster. A hitter who improves the offense still needs somewhere to play. A versatile reserve only provides flexibility if he can handle the assignment. And a young player who needs regular at-bats is not helped by spending four days a week admiring the dugout railing.

I want another dependable offensive presence, with the emphasis on dependable. Boston should be shopping for quality plate appearances and production against good pitching, not simply a recognizable name who once hit a lot of home runs somewhere else.

Handedness matters. So do defensive fit, health, and whether the addition makes the surrounding pieces easier to use. Buying one solution should not require the manager to invent…