Craig Breslow hired as Head Of Baseball Operations

[Duran Is The Man]

At the front end, it was obvious that was what they did. But as you go further down the rankings, I’m not so sure how much separates two players ranked widely apart. Or how the Sox ranked them…

 

yeah, i agree. after the top 20 or so, the difference in skill level and the ability to determine such diminishes and equals out at the same time, with exceptions of course.

[moonslav59]

i damn sure don't. i don't know if they drafted well or not but i am glad they only drafted a couple of HS kids. IDGAF what any board or expert says, i just think -with a few very obvious exceptions- that it is insane to pick HS kids over college kids, unless its the later rounds of the draft where, like notin mentioned, there probably isn't that much separation. high school kids have only proved that they are good against other high school players.

 

What might work out well is that the Sox took some HS players high in the draft under Bloom (Mayer, Anthony, Yorke, Romero, Jordan, E R-C, Zanetello, Anderson) and then started taking college players afterwards (Teel, Campbell, Duffy and now Monmtgomery and picks 2-6th, so maybe they all start maturing about the same time- like in 2-4 years.

 

[Brock Beauchamp]

What are peoples' thoughts on Breslow thus far? How much of the Sox's (somewhat surprising) first half are you attributing to him?

[vegasbob]

What are peoples' thoughts on Breslow thus far? How much of the Sox's (somewhat surprising) first half are you attributing to him?

 

I would attribute the pitching improvements mainly to Bailey's influence to give up throwing weak fastballs , as well as general maturation of guys like Houck and Crawford. Bello hasn't quite mastered the mound yet, but should be benefitting from AB.

 

Aside from that, Breslow has not made any player position moves that have made a big difference. Maybe Dom Smith is now paying off . Vaughn Grissom certainly is a failed experiment to date. Is/was O'Neill a plus move, or just temp labor? Debatable so far.

 

Craig will be judged short term by what he does between now and end of July.

[mvp 78]

What are peoples' thoughts on Breslow thus far? How much of the Sox's (somewhat surprising) first half are you attributing to him?

 

Breslow hired Bailey and Willard. All three have impacted the pitching immeasurably. Houck went from being a potential bullpen arm to leading the Sox rotation. Kutter is now a solid middle of the rotation starter. Criswell couldn't find success in Tampa, but is now a decent 6th option for the rotation. Breslow traded for Slaten in the Rule 5 draft and he's now a reliable setup guy after only pitching 8 innings in AAA. Kelly has bounced back to have the best season of his career. The minor league guys are all TBD (Perales did see his stock skyrocket into the top 100 this year due to the new pitching staff), but it seems like the direction is much better in one year under Breslow than it has been since the Theo days.

[mvp 78]

I would attribute the pitching improvements mainly to Bailey's influence to give up throwing weak fastballs , as well as general maturation of guys like Houck and Crawford. Bello hasn't quite mastered the mound yet, but should be benefitting from AB.

 

Aside from that, Breslow has not made any player position moves that have made a big difference. Maybe Dom Smith is now paying off . Vaughn Grissom certainly is a failed experiment to date. Is/was O'Neill a plus move, or just temp labor? Debatable so far.

 

Craig will be judged short term by what he does between now and end of July.

 

O'Neilll is having the second best season of his career. Romy Gonzalez has been a better scrap heap find than the dreck Bloom brought in. Even Westbrook filled in better than the dingdongs that Bloom would throw unto the breach.

[Maxbialystock]

O'Neilll is having the second best season of his career. Romy Gonzalez has been a better scrap heap find than the dreck Bloom brought in. Even Westbrook filled in better than the dingdongs that Bloom would throw unto the breach.

 

Pretty thin gruel.

 

Bailey, I agree, has been worth his weight in gold, even with what appears to a collapse of the pitching staff. I could be wrong, but I believe this season would have been hopeless without Bailey.

 

But you left out Breslow's signature moves: 1)dumping Sale to the Braves while paying the Braves $17M to make Sale the bargain of the century; 2) and acquiring Giolito, who is being paid $38M for whatever he can or can't achieve in one freaking season.

[Duran Is The Man]

Pretty thin gruel.

 

Bailey, I agree, has been worth his weight in gold, even with what appears to a collapse of the pitching staff. I could be wrong, but I believe this season would have been hopeless without Bailey.

 

But you left out Breslow's signature moves: 1)dumping Sale to the Braves while paying the Braves $17M to make Sale the bargain of the century; 2) and acquiring Giolito, who is being paid $38M for whatever he can or can't achieve in one freaking season.

 

yep. Breslow must have thought that we were so LOADED with pitching that Sale was expendable. no other explanation. unless they're f***ing idiots.

[moonslav59]

yep. Breslow must have thought that we were so LOADED with pitching that Sale was expendable. no other explanation. unless they're f***ing idiots.

 

How about thinking we are sick of counting on pitchers that are always hurt?

[moonslav59]

O'Neilll is having the second best season of his career. Romy Gonzalez has been a better scrap heap find than the dreck Bloom brought in. Even Westbrook filled in better than the dingdongs that Bloom would throw unto the breach.

 

Bloom missed a lot on the gems from the rough, which was supposed to be a strength.

 

Arroyo did okay for a bit.

Ref

Iggy

Pillar

DHam

Abreu

Wong

Schreiber

Whitlock

Hill

Wink

Strahm

 

He also missed on the timing for Springs and Martin Perez

[Randy Red Sox]

How about thinking we are sick of counting on pitchers that are always hurt?

 

yeah but those are almost always the guys we sign

[moonslav59]

yeah but those are almost always the guys we sign

 

I get it.

 

My point was the attempt was to move away from that, and it backfired on both ends.

 

Gio missed the whole year, and Sale doesn't miss a start.

 

There was an explanation, and there was some reason involved in the decision.

 

I would not call someone an idiot for not predicting Sale would do this, after 4 years of nothing or that Gio would not make a single start.

 

We guessed wrong. It sucks. It's not the first time we guessed wrong on pitching choices.

[notin]

yep. Breslow must have thought that we were so LOADED with pitching that Sale was expendable. no other explanation. unless they're f***ing idiots.

 

In the last 4 years, Sale has thrown 151 IP and been paid about $116 mill. I think the thought was he might not be the wisest use of resources…

[moonslav59]

In the last 4 years, Sale has thrown 151 IP and been paid about $116 mill. I think the thought was he might not be the wisest use of resources…

 

We can all see the move backfired, but this constant saying it "made no sense," or they are "idiots" for not predicting these results, is a bit much.

[Maxbialystock]

How about thinking we are sick of counting on pitchers that are always hurt?

 

Well, now, that depends, doesn't it? I honestly thought I saw a better Sale last season than the one we'd seen since 2019. I looked forward to his return this season.

 

But of course my opinion doesn't count for much.

 

On the other hand, I think the Braves opinion should count. We know they are pretty smart about player acquisitions, and they went after Sale, after a fashion. They even talked Breslow into shelling out $17M along with Sale. I don't see how anyone can conclude anything but that the Braves snookered novice Breslow. Someday maybe Grissom will help, but there is absolutely no guarantee of it.

 

Then there's Giolito, the presumed replacement for the departed Sale. $38M for 2 years, one of which is already completely lost.

[moonslav59]

Well, now, that depends, doesn't it? I honestly thought I saw a better Sale last season than the one we'd seen since 2019. I looked forward to his return this season.

 

But of course my opinion doesn't count for much.

 

On the other hand, I think the Braves opinion should count. We know they are pretty smart about player acquisitions, and they went after Sale, after a fashion. They even talked Breslow into shelling out $17M along with Sale. I don't see how anyone can conclude anything but that the Braves snookered novice Breslow. Someday maybe Grissom will help, but there is absolutely no guarantee of it.

 

Then there's Giolito, the presumed replacement for the departed Sale. $38M for 2 years, one of which is already completely lost.

 

Yes, Sale did look good, last year, and the promise was better than other years. Had he been hurt or sucked, nobody would have been surprised, either.

 

Yes, there were worries about Gio, but really not about his health or durability. Had Gio started 30 games at a 4.00 ERA and Sale 10 at a 3.25 ERA, I doubt anyone would be complaining.

 

We got it wrong. That does not mean there was no logic behind the choices.

 

Getting a couple guesses wrong does not make any GM an idiot.

 

Of course the Grissom outlook is no guarantee, but our 2B issues have been horrific for so long, it nearly rivals our rotation woes. We took a stab at fixing it for 4-5 years. So far, the looks like a bad guess, too.

 

When bad guesses become the norm, then maybe the GM can be blamed, but Brez was not the only guy to think Grissom had more promise than Valdez, Reyes, DHam and others, last winter. I think every single GM would have chosen Grissom over all the others we had. If he's an idiot for that, then something is wrong with the judging criteria.

 

I'd say Brez guessed right on...

 

Dumping Dugo in time

Acquiring Slaten

Trading two low hope relief pitchers for O'Neill.

Signing Criswell at minimum wage with 4 arbs left.

Getting Romy off waivers

Maybe improving the pen with Booser (2024>>) and I Campbell, Weissert and Judice (2025>>>)

Maybe improving the farm with Fitts & Sandlin

Maybe improving our 2B position with Grissom from 2025-2028.

Maybe improving on the 2025 pitching staff with Hendriks & Fulmer.

 

We can choose to take out the magnifying glass on Sale, Gio and Grissom, but Brez has not swung and missed on every deal.

 

Some or many of the other moves I mentioned might fail or turn out to be insignificant, but the Sale trade had some logic and reason behind it. It just did not work out. It happens.

 

After watching this happen over and over with Bloom, I can see why this causes so much grief, and I'm not happy about it, either, but Brez is not an idiot over one trade.

[Bellhorn04]

Hopefully Brez hasn't quickly reconsidered buying after watching the last few games...

[notin]

Hopefully Brez hasn't quickly reconsidered buying after watching the last few games...

 

Where one new, effective reliever could have resulted in 3 more wins minimum?

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Where one new, effective reliever could have resulted in 3 more wins minimum?

 

Even if a horse was coming now, he couldn't get into the barn with the barn door up in flames.

[Bellhorn04]

Where one new, effective reliever could have resulted in 3 more wins minimum?

 

That guy would have been busy!

[Bellhorn04]

Can't help thinking Brez is getting sticker shock on what's being asked for good relievers. Somewhere Chaim Bloom is smiling.

 

So...who will be this year's Hansel Robles and Austin Davis?

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Can't help thinking Brez is getting sticker shock on what's being asked for good relievers. Somewhere Chaim Bloom is smiling.

 

So...who will be this year's Hansel Robles and Austin Davis?

 

Initially, I couldn't break the code. But now I see it:

 

Desmond. From Ambiguity.

[moonslav59]

Can't help thinking Brez is getting sticker shock on what's being asked for good relievers. Somewhere Chaim Bloom is smiling.

 

So...who will be this year's Hansel Robles and Austin Davis?

 

I am far from an expert on other teams' farm hands, but are RP'ers really getting massive overpay returns?

 

Are the prospects given up actually better than Yorke, Lugo, Meidroth, Castro, Hickey, Kavadas, Jordan, Wikelman and other mid-level Sox prospects?

 

We have extra depth on the farm at every position, except pitching:

 

C: Teel, Jo Garcia, Hickey, Brannon

1B: Jordan, Gasper & Kavadas

2B: Grissom, Valdez, Romero (Meidroth, Campbell, Yorke/Lugo)

SS: Mayer, Zanetell, Cespedes

3B: Meidroth

LF: Campbell, Lugo, Yorke

CF/RF: Anthony, Bleis

 

IMO, we can afford to trade 5-7 midlevel guys and still have decent farm depth and keep all our top 7-9 prospects.

[Bellhorn04]

I am far from an expert on other teams' farm hands, but are RP'ers really getting massive overpay returns?

 

Not that many big name RP'ers have been moved so far.

 

Jason Adam got a large return, but he's got a few years of control left so that has to be factored.

[moonslav59]

Not that many big name RP'ers have been moved so far.

 

Jason Adam got a large return, but he's got a few years of control left so that has to be factored.

 

We need one solid RPer and two like some of those already traded.

 

BRW, Estevez was the prize RPer.

[moonslav59]

So, the "set-up" for next year's everyday 13 might look like this:

 

2024 current OPS

C: .806 Wong

1B: .857 Casas

2B: .702 DHam/.756 Romy (platoon?) Grissom?

SS: ___ Story

3B: .989 Devers

LF: .870 Duran

CF: .705 Rafaela

RF: .856 Abreu/ .887 Refsnyder (platoon)

DH: .717 Yoshida

 

It looks even more lefty orientated, than this year (no O'Neill,) but still looks solid.

 

The 3 most impactful prospects that are near MLB ready are all LHBs:

Anthony CF (Rafaela has one of our lowest OPS of the starting 9)

Mayer SS (Story to 2B?) Story and DHam/Romy have one of our lowest positional OPS

Teel © Teams always need two solid Catchers. Teel gives us a L-R option.

 

The next two: Campbell & Meidroth are both RHBs.

 

Edited August 5, 2024 by moonslav59

[mvp 78]

So, the "set-up" for next year's everyday 13 might look like this:

 

2024 current OPS

C: .806 Wong

1B: .857 Casas

2B: .702 DHam/.756 Romy (platoon?) Grissom?

SS: ___ Story

3B: .989 Devers

LF: .870 Duran

CF: .705 Rafaela

RF: .856 Abreu/ .887 Refsnyder (platoon)

DH: .717 Yoshida

 

It looks even more lefty orientated, than this year (no O'Neill,) but still looks solid.

 

The 3 most impactful prospects that are near MLB ready are all LHBs:

Anthony CF (Rafaela has one of our lowest OPS of the starting 9)

Mayer SS (Story to 2B?) Story and DHam/Romy have one of our lowest positional OPS

Teel © Teams always need two solid Catchers. Teel gives us a L-R option.

 

The next two: Campbell & Meidroth are both RHBs.

 

 

Anthony is not really a CFer. He can fake it, but will end up in RF.

[moonslav59]

Anthony is not really a CFer. He can fake it, but will end up in RF.

 

You may be right...

 

soxprospects.com...

 

Defense: Red Sox believe he can stick in center field long-term, but others believe he ends up in a corner. Strong defensive instincts. Has played a strong center field so far, showing good reads off the bat and nice paths to the ball. Makes plays that a lot of center fielders cannot make. Ability to stay in center will depend on whether he can retain his athleticism as he matures. Potential above-average defensive profile.

[mvp 78]

You may be right...

 

soxprospects.com...

 

Defense: Red Sox believe he can stick in center field long-term, but others believe he ends up in a corner. Strong defensive instincts. Has played a strong center field so far, showing good reads off the bat and nice paths to the ball. Makes plays that a lot of center fielders cannot make. Ability to stay in center will depend on whether he can retain his athleticism as he matures. Potential above-average defensive profile.

 

I believe Ian and Chris have said on recent SoxProspects pods that he should be transitioned of CF and that his future home is not there. He's looked fine from what I've seen, but the Sox have Duran and Rafaela that seem to play CF on a higher level so why move them off?

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

I believe Ian and Chris have said on recent SoxProspects pods that he should be transitioned of CF and that his future home is not there. He's looked fine from what I've seen, but the Sox have Duran and Rafaela that seem to play CF on a higher level so why move them off?

 

For PITCHING!

 

The problem in a serious trade for serious talent is that you have to be willing to give quality to receive quality. Duran is an elite runner and offensive force. Rafaela is an elite outfielder with pop (and versatility). Anthony projects to have elite power.

 

If Breslow's farm directors can convince him that someone like Campbell or Montgomery or Bleis has a skillset to replace one of the above -- and soon -- then maybe he can finally make that painful but necessary deal from depth to vastly improve the MLB club.