The Boston Red Sox have an important offseason ahead, and Craig Breslow made it clear the team is making pitching a priority.

During the General Manager meetings in Las Vegas, Breslow met with reporters and provided updates on the team’s offseason and plan. He spoke about adding to the rotation and emphasized the fact that if the team adds a starter, it will be one who can pitch near the top of their rotation. Framber Valdez would fit that bill and would be a great addition for the Red Sox.

“Because of the depth that we’ve built up over the last couple of years, we feel pretty good about just overall starting pitching and numbers 3-ish through 10-ish (on the depth chart),” Breslow said on Monday to The Athletic. “That’s not to take away from guys who are certainly capable of doing more — but I don’t think we’re going to spend a ton of time trying to add a No. 4 or No. 5 starter. If we’re going to make a starting pitching addition, I think it should be somebody who can pitch at the front of a rotation and start a playoff game for us.”

Valdez is one of the best pitchers in baseball and would be a great No. 2 option behind Garret Crochet. He is a two-time All-Star and has received Cy Young Award votes in four different seasons. Since 2021, he has a 3.20 ERA in 143 starts. He has also thrown nine complete games in that span.

During the Houston Astros’ 2022 World Series run, Valdez had a 1.44 ERA in four starts. He is not going to be cheap, but Breslow’s comments hint at the fact that perhaps he prefers not to dip into the farm system after doing so to acquire Crochet.

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“While we believe we’re in a window to contend and to compete for the postseason and World Series championships, we’re also mindful of keeping one eye on the future,” Breslow told The Athletic on Monday. “Trading away four really good young players for a starting pitcher (like the Crochet deal) is one way of pulling those wins forward, and there are times you have to do that. But we also don’t want to be in a position where we’re having to do that year over year.”

Spotrac projects Valdez to sign a six-year, $200 million deal in free agency. That would rank fifth among starting pitchers in terms of total value.