After bolstering the starting rotation, the next highest priority for the Red Sox this offseason has been adding more right-handed bats to balance the lineup. The club already added one and filled its void at second base by trading for 23-year-old up-and-comer Vaughn Grissom, but Boston could use another to add some extra thump.

Late Sunday night, one of the biggest bats left on the market came off the board.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan and others, free agent outfielder Teoscar Hernandez has signed a one-year, $23.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The deal marks the latest move in the Dodgers’ historic spending spree and now Hernandez joins a loaded lineup that already included Mookie Batts, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani.

The Red Sox had reportedly expressed interest in Hernandez, though according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo talks petered out and Boston wasn’t a serious player by the end. Instead the Red Sox will look elsewhere, exploring what remains of the free agent and trade markets to upgrade the lineup.

If the Red Sox were to make a move, who could they still get?

In terms of free agency, one sensible option might be a reunion with outfielder Adam Duvall, who batted .247 with 21 home runs and an .834 OPS for the Red Sox despite missing more than a third of the season due to a freak wrist injury. When healthy Duvall was one of Boston’s most impactful hitters last season, plus he can also play both center and right field and could likely sign on a shorter-term deal.

Justin Turner is also still available, though he doesn’t make as much sense positionally given that he’s a full-time designated hitter.

As far as outside additions, the best remaining right-handed bat on the free agent market is Jorge Soler. The 31-year-old Cuban is coming off an All-Star season in which he batted .250 with 36 home runs and an .853 OPS with Miami, and while he primarily DH’d, he did also play 32 games in right field and could probably play left in Boston.

With Soler aboard the Red Sox could alternate between Masataka Yoshida and Soler at DH, going with a lefty-heavy outfield against righties and a righty-heavy group (including Rob Refsnyder and Tyler O’Neill) against lefties. Either way he’d be an obvious choice to bat fifth, protecting whichever lefty Boston opted for in the clean-up spot, probably Rafael Devers or Triston Casas most days.

If not Soler, other outside options include Tommy Pham, Michael A. Taylor or a less obvious trade candidate, but either way whoever Boston adds is more likely to be a middle-to-bottom half guy and not a top-of-the-order masher.

That job, in all likelihood, will fall to Trevor Story.

Bad as his first two years in Boston have gone, Story still has an established track record as one of baseball’s best hitters when healthy. Now that his elbow issue is behind him and with his first full spring training since signing with Boston coming up, the club no doubt hopes he can slot into the No. 3 spot and get back to being the All-Star performer he was in Colorado.

Fans probably got tired of the annual notion of Chris Sale being the club’s big trade deadline acquisition whenever he returned from injury in mid-August, but Story really could be Boston’s big lineup addition in 2024. Factoring in his elite middle infield defense there’s likely no position player more important to the club, and if Story gets back to form it could go a long way towards elevating the Red Sox back into contention.

Even still, for the Red Sox to reach their full potential they’ll need more, so it will be interesting to see who else the club adds before all is said and done.

Bloom hired by Cardinals

Several months after being let go as Red Sox chief baseball officer, Chaim Bloom has landed a new role with another major league club.

Monday afternoon the St. Louis Cardinals announced that Bloom has been hired as an Advisor to the President of Baseball Operations, a role in which he’ll assist Cardinals boss John Mozeliak in a variety of baseball matters.

“I’m excited to join the Cardinals and to be a part of this great organization,” Bloom said in a statement. “Mo and his team have given me such a warm welcome, and I’m eager to build relationships here and to learn, contribute, and help us win.”

“I have known Chaim for a long time and feel that this is a great opportunity for the St. Louis Cardinals,” Mozeliak said. “It will be good to get an outside perspective of our organization from someone who is as well-respected as Chaim. Having a fresh set of eyes on all aspects of our baseball operations should be helpful.”

Bloom had been linked to the Cardinals for much of the offseason, and now he’ll have a hand in helping the storied franchise turn things around after a dreadful 2023 season. St. Louis finished last in the division for the first time since 1990, and it’s 71-91 record was its worst since that same year.

Sox tickets on sale Thursday

The first batch of Red Sox tickets, including for Opening Day, will go on sale later this week, the club announced Monday.

Single-game tickets for all home games through June 5 will go on sale Thursday, Jan. 11 at 10 a.m. The home opener is scheduled for Tuesday, April 9 against the Baltimore Orioles, and other notable early-season home dates include series against the Chicago Cubs (April 26-28), San Francisco Giants (April 30-May 2), Milwaukee Brewers (May 24-26) and Atlanta Braves (June 4-5).

The Red Sox also announced a series of special giveaways for April and May games, which include an Opening Day Schedule Magnet on April 9, bobbleheads for Brayan Bello (April 12) and Triston Casas (May 14), a Patriots Day replica jersey (April 15), kids run the bases events on April 18 and May 12 (Mother’s Day), a Wally and Tessie Reversible Headband (April 18), a Sherpa Belt Bag (May 12) and Sunglasses (May 25).

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit redsox.com/tickets.