LAS VEGAS — With capable big league players ensconced at every position and no starters hitting free agency, Craig Breslow will have to get creative when it comes to upgrading the club’s lineup.

But while Breslow was cagey when asked about what he considers his areas of need earlier this week at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas, his evasiveness was noteworthy when asked if he considers Trevor Story the Red Sox’s starting shortstop going into next season.

“We know what Trevor is capable of doing when he’s healthy and performing, this year was disrupted for a number of reasons, injury, some struggles at times,” Breslow said. “I think we’re always evaluating these things and we still have a ton of confidence in Trevor, but any decisions like that are going to take place between me and Trevor far before I speak to anything publicly.”

Story is entering the final year of his six-year, $140 million contract originally signed immediately after the last lockout ended in March of 2022. Story’s five-year tenure has been heavily disrupted by injuries, and last year the soon-to-be 34-year-old was limited to just 64 games due to a sports hernia injury.

Though Story finished the season strong, he wound up batting only .235 with five home runs and a .621 OPS on the year. According to Spotrac, Story will count for $23.3 million against the luxury tax in 2027.

Overall Boston finished 27th in MLB with a -1.1 Wins Above Average at the shortstop position, ahead of only Seattle, Colorado and Philadelphia. So if he isn’t willing to make any comments about Story one way or the other, does Breslow at least see shortstop as a potential area to upgrade?

“We’ve got Trevor, we have a bunch of guys that stepped in when Trevor was hurt, whether that’s Mona, Sogie is capable of playing shortstop, obviously Franklin, and figuring out his readiness and figuring out that timeline,” Breslow said, referring to Andruw Monasterio, Nick Sogard and top prospect Franklin Arias. “I think at this point we have to be open-minded about ways to improve the team, but beyond that I’m not going to speak to any individual’s status without having conversations internally first.”

Arias’ potential elevation to the starting shortstop job is the wild card hanging over the Red Sox’s shortstop situation. The 20-year-old finished the season as Baseball America’s No. 2 ranked prospect in MLB after a dominant campaign in which he batted .323 with 25 home runs and a .957 OPS over 117 games split between Double-A and Triple-A.

Given that Arias is not currently on the 40-man roster he won’t be affected by the expected lockout, meaning he’ll be able to continue working out with club officials and can report to minor league spring training on schedule even if big league camp is shut down. But once MLB spring training does resume, will Arias be given an opportunity to compete for the starting job?

“Premature, all the conversations we’ve had with and about Franklin at this point are targeted on how we make the most of this offseason for him,” Breslow said. “Getting bigger and stronger, continuing to push him on both sides of the ball, base running as well, so that’s what our focus is and we’ll figure out the rest down the road.”