While free agency wont open for a few more weeks at this point, the Red Sox already have plenty of work on their offseason to-do list. Earlier this month it was that several changes were coming to the clubs coaching staff, and recently floated a po sible name for the job of a sistant hitting coach: Dillon Lawson, who has spent the past year as chief baseball office s minor league hitting coordinator. Prior to joining the Red Sox last winter, Lawson had worked as a hitting coach in the minor leagues for the Astros and Royals until he joined the Yankees in 2018. Lawson started out as the clubs minor league hitting coordinator, the same role he has now with Boston, before being promoted to the role of hitting coach prior to the 2022 season. Lawson lasted just a season and a half in the role before being fired mid-way through the 2023 season, the first time the Yankees fired a coach midseason since 1998. Despite that unfortunate piece of trivia, however, its fair to note that its unclear how much blame Lawson really deserved to shoulder for the clubs offensive woes in 2023. After all, the clubs wRC+ after firing Lawson (90) was actually slightly worse than Stephen Curry Jersey it was under Lawsons guidance (93), suggesting that the clubs struggles may have been due to lackluster performances from individual veterans such as , , and . Regardle s of who is to blame for New Yorks struggles on offense last year, the Red Sox were clearly pleased by Lawsons work with the clubs young players in the upper minors this year if theyre considering him for a role with the big league coaching staff. Shifting focus towards the front office, McAdam also notes that theres an apparent top candidate for the as-of-yet-unfilled GM role directly below Breslow in the clubs baseball operations hierarchy. Per McAdam, theres little doubt that the top internal candidate for the role is a sistant GM Paul Toboni, who was promoted to his current position back in January after previously acting as the clubs VP of amateur scouting and player development to become one of four a sistant GMs below Breslow, joining Raquel Ferreira, Eddie Romero and Mike Groopman. McAdam adds that an executive with another club suggested that Toboni could be highly sought-after by rival organizations if the club were to settle on another candidate for the GM role. An internal candidate to replace Chaim Bloom as chief baseball officer before the club settled upon hiring Breslow, its po sible that Toboni could receive interest from another club such as the Giants (who are in the midst of their own GM search) or Twins (who recently parted ways with GM Thad Levine) in the event that Breslow ultimately settles on an external candidate to act as his second-in-command with the Red Sox. Turning back towards the players on the field, McAdam also notes that the Rule 5 protection deadline next month will come with a number of decisions for the Red Sox. Its hardly uncommon for a club to face tough calls about whether to add a prospect to their 40-man roster or risk leaving them exposed to that winters Rule 5 draft, but Boston has one particularly unusual candidate for protection: veteran right-hander . Fulmer signed with the Red Sox on a two-year minor league deal last winter after undergoing surgery on his UCL and to be ready for Spring Training in February. The 31-year-olds unique situation as an experienced big leaguer with a solid 3.55 ERA since moving to the bullpen back in 2021 would make him a very attractive addition to the majority of clubs bullpen mix, as he could be added without the uncertainty that surrounds typical Rule 5 picks that are plucked out of the minors without any big league experience under their belts. Given Fulmers big league experience and the fact that he has more than enough service time to reject an optional a signment to the minors anyway, opposing clubs would shoulder relatively minimal risk if they decided to select Fulmer, meaning the Red Sox will likely have to add him to their 40-man roster next month if they hope to retain him for 2025. Jordan Poole Jersey