Craig Breslow: CBO of the Red Sox

[Kimmi]

5 hours ago, Soxlover said:

Perhaps I should have mentioned it a few times.

i return from Cancun, today.

I wouldn't have known this was you either if I hadn't seen the post saying it was you.

The bold print should have given it away.  LOL

[Soxlover]

6 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Needs to change his alt to VacationHater. 

You obviously don’t know me

[Hitch]

7 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I must be going senile because I didn't catch on that it was you LOL

Totally passed me by too! And I'm always suspicious of these things ha! 

[Maxbialystock]

On 7/1/2025 at 7:33 PM, moonslav59 said:

I was very angry that winter, especially after the "full throttle" quote.

In hindsight, maybe even another big signing or two would not have been enough, but we were played, that winter.

I liked what Brez did last winter, and while I thought signing a longer term pitcher made more sense than Buehler at $21M/2 and Sandoval at $19M/2, I can understand why the risk factor made them go short. The AAV for Buehler + Sandoval = Fried.

The Bregman signing restored my faith, but now, after the Devers dump, I'm back to square one.

I excoriated Breslow over the Sale deal, but at the same time  believed JH did in fact want to go in a different direction by hiring Breslow despite his having no CBO experience.  

We still don't know exactly what JH intends or is willing to spend.  But we have seen some loosening of the purse strings as well as some pretty good acquisitions.  Plus the farm system is paying off.  

Consequently, I like this team.  And that means I also don't mind losing Devers even though I thought he was perfect as the DH.  However, the facts are that 33 days ago with Devers as the DH the Sox were hopeless, 30-35.  Now, without Devers, the Sox are 48-45--despite a dreaded 9 game West Coast trip--and Bregman still isn't even back yet.  

Just ahead are some tough games--4 vs the Rays, 3 @ Cubs, 3 @ Phillies, and 3 vs Dodgers.  And what's neat about that is we all get a chance to see what this team can really do.  

[moonslav59]

Look at some of the views we had on some Brez choices, before this season began, and how we view them now:

The Gio signing.

The Bello extension.

The Rafaela extension.

The faith in Story at SS and keeping Mayer at AAA, then calling him up for 3B.

The Narvaez trade, in lieu of adding another more known catcher.

The "neglect" on pen additions and signing a 78 year old closer in Chapman.

The Wilson signing.

The Toro signing.

Of course, some of these moves can go south, at any moment, but these all look better now than they did a few months ago- some even just a month ago, like Story.

The Buehler and Hendriks deals still look bad, and Sandoval is very much TBD, but I gotta say, "KUDOS to BREZ!"

[Hitch]

And the balls to trade Devers. Whatever else you think of how we got there - that was a gutsy, put-my-job-on-the-line move.

[mvp 78]

14 hours ago, Soxlover said:

You obviously don’t know me

You posted way more on vacation than I did. That’s for sure. Even squabbled with other posters. Wild vacation behavior IMO.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

8 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Look at some of the views we had on some Brez choices, before this season began, and how we view them now:

The Gio signing.

The Bello extension.

The Rafaela extension.

The faith in Story at SS and keeping Mayer at AAA, then calling him up for 3B.

The Narvaez trade, in lieu of adding another more known catcher.

The "neglect" on pen additions and signing a 78 year old closer in Chapman.

The Wilson signing.

The Toro signing.

Of course, some of these moves can go south, at any moment, but these all look better now than they did a few months ago- some even just a month ago, like Story.

The Buehler and Hendriks deals still look bad, and Sandoval is very much TBD, but I gotta say, "KUDOS to BREZ!"

Breslow's three biggest expenses last winter are the three Red Sox to make this summer's All-Star team.

[mvp 78]

22 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Breslow's three biggest expenses last winter are the three Red Sox to make this summer's All-Star team.

And he didn't fix the logjam in the OF for some reason or have a plan for where the big three would play when promoted. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

20 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

And he didn't fix the logjam in the OF for some reason or have a plan for where the big three would play when promoted. 

Let's just hope Brez doesn't do something Raffy and trade Duran right after some home run blasts and a six-game winning streak.

[mvp 78]

13 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Let's just hope Brez doesn't do something Raffy and trade Duran right after some home run blasts and a six-game winning streak.

Those are the rumors. They've also said they are willing to keep all the guys they have, but send Mayer down to AAA WHICH IS WILD...

[notin]

On 6/30/2025 at 6:38 PM, Bellhorn04 said:

Sorry, you're not going to convince me they didn't go cheap in 2024, especially after the 'full throttle' pronouncement.  Why do you think 'full throttle' came to piss so many people off?

The full throttle thing was stupid and the subsequent explanation was insulting and blatantly false.  But clearly the Sale trade was intended to be more than just a salary dump.  They had at least one offer that saved more money and they did try to get an actual player to fulfill a position of need.  Right?

[notin]

6 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Those are the rumors. They've also said they are willing to keep all the guys they have, but send Mayer down to AAA WHICH IS WILD...

Demoting Mayer and keeping Hamilton in MLB is just pointless.  Especially since Hamilton has an option…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

9 minutes ago, notin said:

Demoting Mayer and keeping Hamilton in MLB is just pointless.  Especially since Hamilton has an option…

Please point Hammy to Route 290 West.

[sk7326]

37 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Those are the rumors. They've also said they are willing to keep all the guys they have, but send Mayer down to AAA WHICH IS WILD...

It feels like an inefficient use of resources - especially since Mayer has been good at 3B.  But it'd be nice if the bat hit the ball more often.  

[mvp 78]

33 minutes ago, notin said:

Demoting Mayer and keeping Hamilton in MLB is just pointless.  Especially since Hamilton has an option…

Keeping him up because they feel bad that they didn't take the Hamilton for Castillo trade offer last offseason. 🤪

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, sk7326 said:

It feels like an inefficient use of resources - especially since Mayer has been good at 3B.  But it'd be nice if the bat hit the ball more often.  

5/24 - 6/11 835 OPS 

6/13 - 6/23 330 OPS

6/24 - 7/9 765 OPS

I can forgive him for having a rough week and a half as he adjusts to MLB pitching. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Keeping him up because they feel bad that they didn't take the Hamilton for Castillo trade offer last offseason. 🤪

Rusney just turned 38 yesterday! He's currently playing in Mexico for a manager named Jose Offerman.

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Rusney just turned 38 yesterday! He's currently playing in Mexico for a manager named Jose Offerman.

I wonder if he knows former Red Sox Jose Awfulman? 

[notin]

10 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Keeping him up because they feel bad that they didn't take the Hamilton for Castillo trade offer last offseason. 🤪

The only way demoting Mayer to keep Hamilton makes sense is if the (short term?)  plan is Romy full time at 2b while hes hot.  Of course backfilling his role at 1b would need to happen first…

[Bellhorn04]

56 minutes ago, notin said:

The full throttle thing was stupid and the subsequent explanation was insulting and blatantly false.  But clearly the Sale trade was intended to be more than just a salary dump.  They had at least one offer that saved more money and they did try to get an actual player to fulfill a position of need.  Right?

What other offer are you referring to?

[Bellhorn04]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

And he didn't fix the logjam in the OF for some reason or have a plan for where the big three would play when promoted. 

Don't necessarily disagree, but Duran, Rafaela and Abreu are all playing pretty damn good, so I find it hard to be upset that they're playing...

[notin]

4 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

What other offer are you referring to?

I believe it was from the Rangers.  The rumor was they were willing to take the entirety of the contract, but not give back anything of value in return.  I heard no names on the player(s) coming back.  Presumably some Stan Papi types…

[sk7326]

23 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

5/24 - 6/11 835 OPS 

6/13 - 6/23 330 OPS

6/24 - 7/9 765 OPS

I can forgive him for having a rough week and a half as he adjusts to MLB pitching. 

the 30% strikeout rate is an eyebrow raiser ... I am not always sure whether holes in swings get better fixed here or at AAA - and it does vary by guy.  But I'm willing to be patient for sure. 

[notin]

28 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Keeping him up because they feel bad that they didn't take the Hamilton for Castillo trade offer last offseason. 🤪

Rusney, Luis or Kate del Castillo?

[sk7326]

5 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Don't necessarily disagree, but Duran, Rafaela and Abreu are all playing pretty damn good, so I find it hard to be upset that they're playing...

Yeah - it is nice they are playing well.  It is wild that Rafaela is leading the team in WAR.  

[notin]

5 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Don't necessarily disagree, but Duran, Rafaela and Abreu are all playing pretty damn good, so I find it hard to be upset that they're playing...

I don’t  mind not fixing the outfield logjam.  I would have been more upset if they cleared a path for Anthony and he struggled.  They can still clear the logjam up; they would find it harder to undo a trade if things didn’t work out…

[mvp 78]

24 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Don't necessarily disagree, but Duran, Rafaela and Abreu are all playing pretty damn good, so I find it hard to be upset that they're playing...

They are playing well against bad competition, but everyone is going to need AB's going forward. It's up to Cora to juggle it. 

[mvp 78]

19 minutes ago, notin said:

Rusney, Luis or Kate del Castillo?

Wellington Castillo.

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Breslow's three biggest expenses last winter are the three Red Sox to make this summer's All-Star team.

Buehler cost more than Chapman.