Craig Breslow’s confidence was on full display during his introductory press conference on Thursday morning.
The newest Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox insists he already has all the answers to the test.
“I understand that some of you will see me as another Ivy League nerd with a baseball front office job. It’s true. I am that,” Breslow said. “But I’m also a 13-year big leaguer and 2013 Boston Red Sox World Series Champion. And I know what it takes to win here, and I’m willing to make the hard decisions necessary to deliver.
“My contribution to winning in this role will be different than it was back then. But one thing remains constant: my desire to win today is as strong as it was as a player, and I can’t wait to get started.”
And with that, a new era of Red Sox baseball is upon us.
Heck, you know it’s a big deal when even John Henry shows up for the festivities — but it was merely for a photo op. Yet his team gave plenty of indications that it is ready to invest in those “expensive” baseball players again.
Breslow’s spunk was matched by that of Red Sox ownership, with chairman Tom Werner boasting the team will go “full throttle” this offseason and boldly claiming “we’re going to be competitive next year.”
Alex Cora added a few words of inspiration himself after his former teammate Breslow confirmed “unequivocally” that he would be returning for his sixth season as manager in 2024.
“It’s kind of like perfect, the fact that the World Series was over yesterday,” he said. “The season starts now and we have a lot of work to do.”
Breslow did not disagree with Cora’s assessment of a heavy workload, but his comments when asked plain and simply if he plans to spend this offseason did raise a minor red flag in this scribe’s ear.
“I know that we have some needs to fill on our major league roster,” Breslow said. “I think that there are multiple ways to get there and our job is to take as comprehensive a look as we can at all possible paths there.”
He went on to sing the praises of the team’s up-and-comers and middling farm system.
“There are a lot of great things happening with the Red Sox,” he said. “The one thing that I’m very, very excited to point to is the emergence of this really exciting young core, some of whom is contributing right now at the major league level, some who are reaching the upper levels of the minor leagues, and some who candidly are not here just yet.”
Not exactly what most Red Sox fans were hoping to hear on day one from their new baseball boss. Especially when the Texas Rangers team that won the World Series one day ago boasted the fourth-highest payroll in the sport…
Asked about the Rangers’ path to success, Breslow said he received “unwavering commitment from ownership” to win but again stopped short of committing to breaking the bank.
“There are multiple pathways to building sustainable winners, and we need to be willing to run down all of those,” he said.
As for the notion of Cora having a greater say in the team’s front-office decisions, Breslow said both he and the coaching staff will mutually influence personnel decisions. Hopefully that means Cora will be able to persuade Breslow to bring in a big arm or two in free agency, a need the new CBO couldn’t help but acknowledge.
“It’s no secret that pitching, and specifically starting pitching, is an area of need in this organization,” he said. “It’s something we’ll kind of shift our focus to.”
Kind of? To borrow from Breslow’s lexicon, starting pitching must “unequivocally” be the team’s number one priority once the dollars and contracts start flying around. Being able to develop a homegrown rotation is the ideal goal, albeit one this organization has fallen woefully short of in recent years.
When that fails, it’s time to bring out the checkbook as they’ve done on numerous occasions in years past. I would encourage Craig not to overthink this one, at least not right from the get-go as he attempts to rebuild the Red Sox on the fly.
That is one significant area his predecessor Chaim Bloom came up short, be it his own fault or ownership’s refusal to spend like they used to.
Breslow inadvertently took a swipe at Bloom’s tenure when he was asked about the team’s short leash with its recent baseball leadership that led to a reported short list of interested candidates this go around.
“Am I, was I aware of the turnover? Of course, but I think if you enter this position trying to hedge, trying to understand what it would look like to fail, you’re taking the wrong approach. I have confidence in my ability to execute this job.”
It’s clear as day that confidence isn’t lacking for Breslow. But you could say the same for a 36-year-old Bloom in 2019. Again, no matter who the Red Sox picked to replace Bloom, their fate is likely to be the same if Henry’s team isn’t willing to put their money where their mouth is.
Gethin Coolbaugh is a contributor to Boston Sports Journal. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on X.
