The Craig Breslow Hire: Why You Should Be Optimistic & Why You Should Be Hesitant

On Wednesday, the Boston Red Sox officially announced the hiring of Craig Breslow as the organization’s chief baseball officer. The position had been vacant since the club and Chaim Bloom “parted ways” on September 14th. The 43-year-old Breslow has worked in the front office for the Chicago Cubs since he was brought on board by former Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein in January 2019. Breslow served as the Cubs’ Director of Strategic Initiatives for Baseball Operations until he was promoted to the position of Director of Pitching/Special Assistant to the President and General Manager in October 2019. In November 2020, Breslow was promoted to Assistant General Manager/Vice President, Pitching, a title he held on the North Side until he was hired by the Red Sox.

Craig Breslow returns to New England where he has strong roots. The Trumbull, Connecticut native played his college ball with the Yale Bulldogs in New Haven, Connecticut, graduating with a B.A. in molecular biophysics and biochemistry in 2002. Breslow deferred his acceptance into NYU Medical School to play pro ball, and his noted intellect led Sporting News to tab him as their smartest athlete in a 2010 list.

Breslow becomes the second-straight Yale graduate to hold the Red Sox’s CBO title, his predecessor Chaim Bloom graduated in 2004. The aforementioned Theo Epstein also graduated from Yale before heading the Red Sox baseball ops as their general manager from 2002-2011, winning two World Series’ and snapping the Curse of the Bambino in 2004.

Breslow was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 26th round of the 2002 MLB Draft, and made his major league debut with the San Diego Padres on July 23rd, 2005 after the Padres had initially signed him for $1 out of a tryout camp. Breslow’s big league career spanned 12 seasons with seven different teams, including two stints with the Red Sox. Breslow has a 2007 and 2013 World Series ring with Boston, despite not pitching for the big league club in 2007. When he retired after the 2017 season, he was fourth among all active southpaws in career appearances, with 576.

Why to be optimistic:

Breslow’s baseball ops specialty is on the mound, especially in scouting and developing young talent. Pitching has been the achilles heel of this Boston Red Sox time under Chaim Bloom, with poor pitching putting an unsustainable amount of pressure on the Sox lineup.

The returns of offensive production vs. pitching during the Chaim Bloom era is striking. In four seasons under Bloom, the Red Sox finished in the top nine of OPS every season (including third in 2021). They finished in the top six in team batting average every season (including finishing third in 2020, 2021, 2022). Looking at runs, the Sox finished in the top 11 each season (including finishing fifth in 2021).

If you looked at the main offensive output metrics for the Red Sox, you would not point to them as a team that has finished last in their division three of the last four years. Heck, this team finished 24-36 in a COVID-shortened season where they ranked third in the entire MLB in batting average.

If Boston can bring their pitching to just a league-average performance while matching their offensive output, they should be in a much better position in the win column.

Per MLB.com, only eight of the Red Sox’s top 30 prospects are pitchers. You have to work your way to the ninth-best prospect, Winkelman Gonzalez, before you come across a pitcher on the top prospect list. The Red Sox prospect list is bat-heavy, especially with a logjam in the middle infield. For the Red Sox to build their team of the future in-house, Breslow will likely have to push the Red Sox farmhands to exceed their current expected potential on the bump. If there is a man for that job, it should be Breslow.

Breslow’s experience in a major league clubhouse empowers him to understand clubhouse dynamics, and he will undoubtedly be more able to resonate with his players than Bloom, who lacked any professional playing experience.

Lastly, many members of Red Sox nation have been put to ease knowing that Theo Epstein put an emphatic stamp of approval on Breslow’s candidacy. Besides the obvious Yale and Red Sox connections, Epstein gave Breslow his start in baseball ops and was even described as a “Theo Epstein Protege”. The Boston Globe described the hire as having “Theo Epstein’s fingerprints all over [it].” Epstein is held in high regard by Red Sox fans, and often identified in these parts as the perfect embodiment of straddling minor league development and acquiring top premier MLB talent.

Why To Be Hesitant:

The Red Sox are at a major inflection point, finishing last in the American League East in three of the last four seasons. For many, this hire needed to be a “sure thing”, someone with a proven track record leading a baseball ops department who could right the ship of arguably the most successful MLB franchise of the 21st century.

Breslow is not that. Similar to his predecessor Bloom, Breslow is more of a “potential” hire, someone who is regarded as an up-and-coming executive with a lot of promise. Craig Breslow could very well turn out to be incredibly successful, but the immediate apprehension is his lack of experience as a number one decision maker in an organization.

When Breslow was elevated to Director of Pitching/Special Assistant to the President and General Manager in October 2019, the Cubs’ press release stated that his job responsibilities would entail: “[helping] to evaluate and implement data-based processes throughout all facets of baseball operations. He will also support the organization’s pitching infrastructure in player development and the major leagues.” Bluntly, Breslow’s experience is almost unilaterally on the pitching side of the game and organizational player development. Breslow has never run a free agency period and he has never made personnel acquisition decisions, two endeavors which will be paramount during this offseason to set the Red Sox’s course for years to come.

As the Red Sox’s search for a new chief baseball officer progressed, the emerging storyline turned out to center more about who was turning down the job, rather than potential candidates. Initially, Red Sox President and CEO Sam Kennedy appeared assured that the line for the open CBO position would be out the door: "At the end of the day, this is the Boston Red Sox," he said the day after the season ended. "If you want to run a baseball organization, this is where you want to be. You want to be in Boston.” As time passed, it was clear that there was a significant gap between Kennedy’s perception and reality.

Per Chris Cotillo of MassLive, “The Red Sox have reportedly had trouble finding candidates interested in the job of replacing Chaim Bloom. Cotillo listed the following people who have turned down requests to interview with the Red Sox: Phillies GM Sam Fuld, Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes, former Marlins boss and current MLB executive Michael Hill and former Rangers GM (and current Rays adviser) Jon Daniels, Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey, Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen and assistant GM Amiel Sawday and others. Internal candidate Raquel Ferreira also declined the opportunity". After that report from Cotillo, Kim Ng of the Miami Marlins also turned down the opportunity after stepping down from the organization when ownership allegedly attempted to restructure the hierarchy and hire above her.

It is completely reasonable to question how Breslow ranked at the beginning of the process, and ask if he was really at the top of the list or simply the best of the last few standing. Cotillo names seven different potential candidates that declined to even interview. The lack of interest in the position (and thus, the organization) needs a deeper dive at a later date, but regardless it is now Breslow’s ship. 

This is a pivotal offseason for a Red Sox team coming off three last place finishes in four years. Breslow has never navigated an offseason as the number one man in charge, so he will have to learn quickly on the job. It will be a tall task for Breslow, but who better to take on the challenge than the smartest man in baseball.