Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow failed to do his job at the trade deadline this season, according to a prominent Red Sox reporter.
Boston’s playoff hopes are hanging on by a thread right now.
The Red Sox entered Saturday five games back of the final Wild Card spot with just 21 games remaining. Even if Boston goes on a run to end the year, it’s doubtful that either the Kansas City Royals or Minnesota Twins will collapse to the necessary degree. There’s also the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers to contend with, who are neck-and-neck with the Red Sox in the standings.
It’s been a disappointing second half for Boston, whose fan base had the postseason on its mind approaching the trade deadline.
Ultimately, it may have been that very deadline that doomed the 2024 Red Sox, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, who scathingly declared on Saturday that Breslow came up empty with his roster moves in July.
“Craig Breslow didn’t help the team at the trade deadline,” Abraham said.
“Luis García, Danny Jansen, James Paxton, and Lucas Sims have combined for negative-1.6 WAR. Garcia, Paxton, and Sims are all on the injured list.”
“Righthander Quinn Priester, obtained from Pittsburgh for Nick Yorke, has mixed good starts with bad ones at Triple A Worcester. Yorke has been a force for Triple A Indianapolis, hitting .353 with a .924 OPS over 31 games.”
It’s difficult to fully blame Breslow for injuries. On the other hand, the Priester deal continues to look like a head-scratcher.
Breslow will have a huge opportunity this winter to right his alleged wrongs and add much-needed pitching talent to the Red Sox.
