The Red Sox are “close to hiring” Andrew Bailey to be their new pitching coach, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal reported late Tuesday night.

Bailey, who pitched for the Red Sox from 2012-13, has been the San Francisco Giants’ pitching coach for the last four years. He’s close friends with Boston’s new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow; they were teammates for five years in Oakland and Boston and already work together on Breslow’s Strike 3 Foundation.

Several teams sought Bailey’s services, including the Baltimore Orioles. The New York Yankees interviewed him on Monday for their bench coach opening, which would’ve been a vertical move, a step closer to managing.

Regardless of his relationship with Breslow, the Red Sox landing Bailey is a strong way to start the offseason. It not only shows how serious they are about transforming their pitching; it signals that they’re prepared to be aggressive again in the pursuit of winning.

It may even inject new life into baseball’s oldest rivalry.