One week ago, Craig Breslow finally picked a lane.
The first-year chief baseball officer Breslow promised the Boston Red Sox would operate as buyers ahead of his first trade deadline as a general manager-type capacity.
As of 6 p.m. the following Tuesday, when baseball’s trade deadline had come and gone, we can definitively say that he stuck to his word.
The only problem? He didn’t go very far down that lane at all…
Breslow’s inaugural trade deadline class looks like this: left-handed starting pitcher James Paxton, right-handed relievers Lucas Sims and Luis Garcia, catcher Danny Jansen and starting pitching prospect Quinn Priester.
“We accomplished what we set out to do,” Breslow told reporters in the back room of the Fenway press box after the deadline had passed. “We are certainly a better team because those guys are here, and look forward to them taking the field and helping us win games down the stretch.”
To his credit, Breslow went out and got a starting pitcher. He went out and got multiple relief arms. And he added a right-handed bat off the bench. He checked off all the boxes of need for this team.
Yet none of them were truly big moves — and none of them are likely to transform the Red Sox from fringe playoff to true World Series contender status.
Paxton is approaching 36 and on the back nine of his career. Going from Reese McGuire to Jansen is effectively a wash. Flipping Nick Yorke to acquire Priester was a good way to reset the team-control clock on a player with potential upside.
As for Sims and Garcia? Those are real players, and real moves. Give Breslow credit for that. Both are established veterans who are having solid seasons, albeit both boast career ERAs over 4.00. But there’s no question the added depth will help this Sox pitching staff, and it didn’t cost any high-end prospects to get them.
“Where we at right now, I feel comfortable that we can show up (Wednesday) and over the weekend and Kansas City and have the right guys,” Alex Cora said.
Nonetheless, Breslow had opportunities to make flashier moves. The Sox had been among the teams linked to Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty, a bonafide top-end starter who ultimately went to (surprise, surprise…) the Dodgers.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., a former All-Star and right-handed bat whose Yankees career is off to a booming start, was there for the taking.
Randy Arozarena, a former All-Star and Rookie of the Year, and old friend Justin Turner — a couple of notable right-handed bats — were traded by division rivals Tampa Bay and Toronto to Seattle.
Tanner Scott, a talented former All-Star left-handed reliever who cut his teeth in the AL East with Baltimore, went from Miami to San Diego. The Orioles, meanwhile, added a left-handed reliever of their own after acquiring Gregory Soto from the Phillies.
There were plenty of other potential fits moved, but you get the point. There were plenty of players out there who would have qualified as the Red Sox making a real splash had the Sox traded for them.
Also of note are the players Breslow didn’t trade. Kenley Jansen, Nick Pivetta and Masataka Yoshida are still here. Breslow and the front office didn’t sell off any key pieces that have made the Red Sox semi-contenders. For that, they deserve credit.
That all being the case, the message ultimately sent by Breslow & Co. to the players in the clubhouse was pretty clear: “We believe in you… a little.”
Breslow spoke at length in his post-deadline presser, but I believed the most important words were summed up in this response…
“When I saw that this team has positioned itself to be deserving of adding and improving, we were able to do that,” Breslow said. “But also that I was going to be anchored to doing what I thought was best for the Red Sox.
“If that meant that there was an opportunity to add a massive amount of talent potentially at the expense of one of those guys that we had to listen. And we set a very high bar that would have needed to have been met, and it wasn’t.
(Breslow really might have a future in politics, man. He walks the line of saying something while really saying nothing incredibly well. It’s Tom Brady-esque…)
So let the record show that Craig Breslow, technically, was a buyer. But the Red Sox were far from real buyers in the true meaning of the word.
All in all, it’s a “C+” from me. Boston made some tweaks around the edges and addressed needs, but they didn’t add any All-Stars or true needle movers.
Fair or not, it’s ultimately a lose-lose scenario for Breslow and Sox management — save for two outcomes: winning the World Series with this team, or totally bombing out in the second half of the season.
If the Sox struggle down the stretch and miss out on the postseason by a few games, they’ll be criticized for not adding to a team that was close — and rightly so.
And if the Sox do make a playoff run and fall short, they’ll be criticized for not adding to a team that was close — and, again, rightly so.
But hey, that’s just the life of a major league executive. Craig, welcome to the club…
Paxton’s Fenway re-debut
James Paxton’s second debut as a Red Sox starter went well — until it didn’t.
The burly left-hander opened his outing by throwing in the low 90s, allowing a leadoff hit to Victor Robles then striking out Arozarena on a well-placed knuckle curve. After a long battle with Turner, Paxton conceded an RBI bloop single that put Seattle on the board.
Paxton even worked in a personal milestone into the start, recording his 1,000th career strikeout for the second out in the top of the fourth on a knuckle curve to Turner. Then he proceeded to serve up a solo shot to Jorge Polanco, trimming Boston’s lead to 3-2.
After holding the Mariners to two runs through four innings, the wheels started coming off in the fifth.
Paxton allowed a leadoff single to Mitch Haniger, followed by a bunt single from Leo Rivas that Dominic Smith fielded and inexplicably threw the ball away like a T-baller with Romy Gonzalez running toward but nowhere near first, to put runners on the corners.
Robles reached on a fielder’s choice to load ‘em up, and then Arozarenza reached on a bang-bang play after Ceddanne Rafaela bobbled the ball at short. Paxton managed to get a whiff out of Cal Raleigh for the first out of the inning, but Cora had seen enough and made the move to Zack Kelly.
In all, after the Mariners plated five runs in that decisive fifth, Paxton was charged with six runs — three earned — with six hits, one walk and five strikeouts, throwing 72 pitches — 48 for strikes — over 4 1/3 innings.
“It felt good to be back in a Red Sox uniform,” Paxton said postgame. “I felt like I threw the ball pretty well, made a couple of mistakes. Fifth inning kind of got away from us. But overall, I feel like it was a good place for me to get back in it here and keep on going.”
Paxton was, in a word, fine. If he can go out there and get you in the range of six innings and four or fewer runs allowed, that’s doing his job — for who he is today. And again, that’s a 35-year-old with nearly 1,000 career innings under his belt who has a history of being injury prone.
That’s why Breslow adding another starter would have been beneficial and preferred. If Paxton can stay healthy, he’ll help take the stress off a very-taxed pitching staff while
But effectively relying on him to be the difference maker who puts you over the top at this point of his career? It’s just not very wise. But it all shows us what Breslow and the decision makers truly think of this ballclub.
And it’s not very much…
Gethin Coolbaugh is a columnist for Boston Sports Journal. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on X/Twitter.