Craig Breslow: CBO of the Red Sox

[Bellhorn04]

34 minutes ago, notin said:

The article also mentions that the old school style of scouting might be a dinosaur.  Since with all of the organizations and youth programs focusing on elite teenage players, everyone already knows who everyone is anyway…

Right, but the romantic notion of scouts is that these guys know the game inside out, they know what to look for beyond the stat sheets, they see things that others don't, things that will help this particular kid succeed at the highest level even if their stats aren't as impressive as some of the other kids.

[notin]

4 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Right, but the romantic notion of scouts is that these guys know the game and know what to look for beyond the stat sheets, they see things that others don't, things that will help this particular kid succeed at the highest level even if their stats aren't as impressive as some other kids.

Don’t confuse the word “romantic” with the word “antiquated.” 
 

All of these organizations, including MLB, Tesm USA, Baseball America, etc., also all have scouts that perform those functions.  Does doubling up help, hinder or do nothing?

[Randy Red Sox]

3 hours ago, Yaz Fan Since 67 said:

A poster points out in his/her signature, as you so here, that the Sox have 4 rings to the Yankees 1 since John Henry bought the team.  To me that that made John Henry very likeable.  Everything changed with the Mookie trade, that was the beginning of the change and something I will never get over. But for a long time JH was a great owner for us and very likeable.   

at one time Henry was a great owner but not sure he was ever very likeable

[moonslav59]

While I toally agree that trading away Betts was unacceptable, unforgiveable or even worse,  it's not the first time JH & Co. let some big stars walk or traded them away. Okay, none were as great as Betts, but many were great. The difference is, we kept winning after they left.

Nomar

Manny

Pedro

AGon

Lester

Beckett

To a lesser extent: D Lowe, Ellsbury, Damon, Papelbon, Beltre, Mueller, Youk and Lackey

The harsh reality is that not only did we fail to come close in replacing Betts, but we also never replaced Kimbrell, Porcello, Price, and later ERod, Nate, JD, Bogey and others.

Nobody can replace Betts, but a team can try to improve 2-3 positions to try and make up for the loss. Dugo and Wont (Downs) fell way short, and we never even tried to significantly upgrade elsewhere to make up for those shortcomings.

While I am not on the dump JH bandwagon, yet, I fully understand those that are. To me, a few of us saw the writing on the wall back in 2018. We expected great difficulties in maintaining a great team with so many stars all reaching free agency in a 2-3 year window, and a farm that seemed like it was not nearly good enough to replenish enough slots that were sure to open up. I never bought the argument that it would be simple to replenish the farm, quickly, while also expecting JH to greatly expand the payroll from the point of already being #1 or 2 almost every year. I never expected teams like the Mets and Padres, along with the Dodgers and others to go this nutty with their spending, but even if they did not, things were bound to get very difficult for any GM the Sox chose, or even if they kept DD under the same budget constraints and farm situation Bloom was handed. I fully believe DD would have traded Betts, too. He nearly did in 2019.

Of course, JH has the money to match some of these nutty spenders, but honestly, I never expected him to do that. This is not letting him off the hook, because he could have spent more to keep us competitive and chose not to do so. The redeeming value in this 6 year lull (or 5 of 6 years, if you count 2021 as a reprieve) is that our farm is now light years better than it was in 2018. Of course, that value is all speculative, but when a team has so many top prospects, it's almost impossible for all to fail.

I'm giving JH another year. This is not saying I expect him to be listening to me or the (up)roar from Sox nation that he is at a make or break point, in terms of watching the dump JH bandwagon become an 80%+ Sox nation wide wagon, but I do think we are much closer to being a top contender than many here seem to be. The question is, do we take the steps necessary to get to that point, of does JH choose to punt to 2026 or worse- never take the plunge, again.

I simply cannot believe we go 2 more years without making a big splash trade of everyday players for a top pitcher. That seems like too much of a no-brainer to not happen. I'm afraid JH might think 2026 is a better time for that splash, but maybe he realizes the fanbase is already over their limits of patience. (maybe not.) Some seem to think he is likely not reading the room or is reading it but cares very little for that.

The budget seems to get all or most of the attention, but to me, the willingn ess to allow a big splash trade or two is equally important. If we make one big splash trade, without a swing and miss, I could imagine is not spending much more than 2024 and being able to fill the other holes to a point where we can compete in 2025. If JH agrees to spend up to but below the line, I think it would be very possible to build a winner, again assuming a big splash trade, too.

Maybe my pink glasses are overpowering.

 

[moonslav59]

44 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

at one time Henry was a great owner but not sure he was ever very likeable

Not in a personal sense, but nobody spoke of disliking him, when the rings were piling up.

[dgalehouse]

Was it the late Marge Schott who said, " Why do I pay scouts? All they do is watch games". 

[Duran Is The Man]

5 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Not in a personal sense, but nobody spoke of disliking him, when the rings were piling up.

yeah, everyone loved him then, but people change and like Bell said, somewhere around 2019, he lost his mind. he hung himself when he traded Mookie, fired DD, cut the budget, etc. screw Henry. i hate the sumbitch.

[moonslav59]

37 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

yeah, everyone loved him then, but people change and like Bell said, somewhere around 2019, he lost his mind. he hung himself when he traded Mookie, fired DD, cut the budget, etc. screw Henry. i hate the sumbitch.

Hate is a strong word, especially to the owner who led us to 4 rings.

[Randy Red Sox]

3 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Hate is a strong word, especially to the owner who led us to 4 rings.

and how long do you think he can rest on that??  If we miss the post season again next year is the still ok??

[moonslav59]

29 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

and how long do you think he can rest on that??  If we miss the post season again next year is the still ok??

I don't love the guy and hate what has happened the last 2 years and the Betts mess 4 years ago.

I've gone through many worse stretches than this as a Sox fan and never hated the owner or GM.

JH did a ton for this team. I don't see it as resting on past glories. Am I pissed at what's going on, recently? Hell, yes! But I don't hate the guy who brought a joy to my life I thought I might never experience. 

When we won the second ring, I was like, "Lord, take me now!"

Two more rings followed, and now we have seen a 6 year stretch with one playoff stint and maybe 2-3 seasons where we started the year thinking the team was good enough to compete. 

I don't  see this as the end of the world. This is not even close to being as bad as the sell off of the mid to  late 70's team. The 30+ years I followed the Sox as much, if not more than any Sox fan in the world, of constant disappointment and despair. A few gut-wrenching heartbreak endings to seasons.

I'll take the last 2 decades of the previous 3 decades any day of the week.

Now, this is not giving JH a get out of jail free card. My appreciation can be outweighed, at some point. To me, it is not now. It might not even be after 2025, if it looks like we are still on the right track. If we had a farm like we did in 2019, I might be at that point now, but we don't.

I'm cutting him some slack. I'm not happy doing it. I don't want him thinking I will be, if we have another near .500 season, either.

Maybe it just takes more than this to rise to what some are calling "hate."

[Duran Is The Man]

On 9/1/2024 at 10:56 AM, moonslav59 said:

Brez is near having his first year as team CBO under his belt. He's already done a lot of moves, including some significant ones, as well as attempted to change the way we acquire and develop our prospects and players.  I won't get into the changes he has made to the scouting and development, so far, and those changes may take years to realize any gains (or losses.)

I hope this thread can be an honest look at what he has done, can do, should do and is allowed to do by JH & Co.

I'll kick the thread off by simply cataloguing his most significant moves made, so far. I'm sure I'll miss some or list some that might not be viewed as significant, but here is my list:

 Signed Giolito: $18M/1 w $19M player option for 2025 ($1M buyout) and club option for $14M for 2026 or $19M, if he pitches 140+ IP in 2025.

Extended Brayan Bello to $55M/6 w option for $21M in '30 ($1M buyout)

Extended Ceddanne Rafaela to $50M/8 w $16M option for '32 and $4M buyout

Traded for Vaughn Grissom (Chris Sale & $17M cash)

Traded for Justin Slaten- a Rule 5 pick (Ryan Ammons)

Traded for Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert & Nicholas Judice (Verdugo)

Traded for Tyler O'Neill (Nick Robertson & Victor Santos)

Signed Cooper Criswell ($1M/1 w arbs pending after 2025) and Chase Anderson

Signed Liam Hendriks $8M/2 w option for '26 at $12M (w $2M buyout- making it a $10M/2 or $20M/3 deal)

Traded for David Sandlin (Schreiber)

Traded for Isaiah Campbell (Luis Urias)

Traded for Quinn Priester 7/28 (Nick Yorke)

Traded for Danny Jansen 7/27 (Paulino,  C Coffey & G Batista)

Traded for Luis Garcia 7/29 (M Lugo, Kavadas, Zeferjahn & Vargas)

Traded for Lucas Sims 7/29 (Ovis Portes)

Traded for James Paxton 7/26 (Moises Bolivar)

Signed Dominic Smith (May 1st) and Brad Keller (5/28)

Signed Rich Hill (8/17) to minor league deal> majors

Traded for Garrett Cooper (Cash)

Traded for T Wingenter (CJ Weins)

Traded for Bailey Horn, Tyler Heineman, Zach Short, N Uwasawa (all for cash) Later, traded Short for cash. Traded Pablo Reyes for cash.

Rule 5 Picks: Mickey Gasper (minor league phase) & Shane Drohan returned to Sox

Waiver Claims: Romy Gonzalez, Max Castillo, Y Ramirez

Signed to minor league deals: Michael Fulmer (2 yrs), Jamie Westbrook, Joely Rodriguez, Wyatt Mills (2 yrs), Lucas Luetge

Drafted: Braden Montgomery (12), Payton Tolle (50), B Neely (86), Z Ehrhard (115), B Clarke (148) and 11 more pitchers and 4 everyday players. (14 pitchers out of 20 draft picks)

IFA signings: V Asencio ($1M), C Carrasqquel ($590K), E Brito ($450K), D Reyes ($450K- RHP), A Fermin ($400K), Justin Gonzalez ($250K) and many more to $200K or less

All-in-all, there were a lot of pitchers acquired, of which some won't play until 2025 or beyond, if at all.

We've already hashed out the Gio signing and Sale trade, and to some extent other moves, but not all that much.

Zeferjahn has performed better for the Angels than Garcia has for the Sox. LOLOL...another great move by the morons in the Sox front office.

[moonslav59]

6 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

Zeferjahn has performed better for the Angels than Garcia has for the Sox. LOLOL...another great move by the morons in the Sox front office.

Man, I sure wish we still had the ZEF-A-Beast!

[Bellhorn04]

8 hours ago, Duran Is The Man said:

Zeferjahn has performed better for the Angels than Garcia has for the Sox. LOLOL...another great move by the morons in the Sox front office.

If the Angels can develop pitchers better than the Red Sox, our problems are even worse than we realized. 

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

If the Angels can develop pitchers better than the Red Sox, our problems are even worse than we realized. 

They "developed" him in 6 weeks and 14 IP?

[mvp 78]

Zeferjahn is streaky and has massive control issues. That 6.2 bb/9 in WOO wasn't pretend. He ended last year with an 8.4 bb/9 in POR. 

[notin]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Zeferjahn is streaky and has massive control issues. That 6.2 bb/9 in WOO wasn't pretend. He ended last year with an 8.4 bb/9 in POR. 

I’d be surprised if Zeferjahn lasted all of next season with the Angels.  I think I’d also be surprised if he had a better MLB career going forward than Luis Garcia, and Garcia is 37 years old…

[moonslav59]

Many wanted us to do more or better at the deadline, but I don't recall a single poster saying the Zef trade was bad, until after LG imploded.

[Bellhorn04]

47 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

They "developed" him in 6 weeks and 14 IP?

It was not really a serious comment.  Just the bitterness talking again. 😛  

 

[Bellhorn04]

58 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Many wanted us to do more or better at the deadline, but I don't recall a single poster saying the Zef trade was bad, until after LG imploded.

He kind of imploded right away, no?

It was just not Brez's year with the trades.  Better luck next time. We hope.

[Maxbialystock]

On 9/22/2024 at 12:24 PM, moonslav59 said:

While I toally agree that trading away Betts was unacceptable, unforgiveable or even worse,  it's not the first time JH & Co. let some big stars walk or traded them away. Okay, none were as great as Betts, but many were great. The difference is, we kept winning after they left.

Nomar

Manny

Pedro

AGon

Lester

Beckett

To a lesser extent: D Lowe, Ellsbury, Damon, Papelbon, Beltre, Mueller, Youk and Lackey

The harsh reality is that not only did we fail to come close in replacing Betts, but we also never replaced Kimbrell, Porcello, Price, and later ERod, Nate, JD, Bogey and others.

Nobody can replace Betts, but a team can try to improve 2-3 positions to try and make up for the loss. Dugo and Wont (Downs) fell way short, and we never even tried to significantly upgrade elsewhere to make up for those shortcomings.

While I am not on the dump JH bandwagon, yet, I fully understand those that are. To me, a few of us saw the writing on the wall back in 2018. We expected great difficulties in maintaining a great team with so many stars all reaching free agency in a 2-3 year window, and a farm that seemed like it was not nearly good enough to replenish enough slots that were sure to open up. I never bought the argument that it would be simple to replenish the farm, quickly, while also expecting JH to greatly expand the payroll from the point of already being #1 or 2 almost every year. I never expected teams like the Mets and Padres, along with the Dodgers and others to go this nutty with their spending, but even if they did not, things were bound to get very difficult for any GM the Sox chose, or even if they kept DD under the same budget constraints and farm situation Bloom was handed. I fully believe DD would have traded Betts, too. He nearly did in 2019.

Of course, JH has the money to match some of these nutty spenders, but honestly, I never expected him to do that. This is not letting him off the hook, because he could have spent more to keep us competitive and chose not to do so. The redeeming value in this 6 year lull (or 5 of 6 years, if you count 2021 as a reprieve) is that our farm is now light years better than it was in 2018. Of course, that value is all speculative, but when a team has so many top prospects, it's almost impossible for all to fail.

I'm giving JH another year. This is not saying I expect him to be listening to me or the (up)roar from Sox nation that he is at a make or break point, in terms of watching the dump JH bandwagon become an 80%+ Sox nation wide wagon, but I do think we are much closer to being a top contender than many here seem to be. The question is, do we take the steps necessary to get to that point, of does JH choose to punt to 2026 or worse- never take the plunge, again.

I simply cannot believe we go 2 more years without making a big splash trade of everyday players for a top pitcher. That seems like too much of a no-brainer to not happen. I'm afraid JH might think 2026 is a better time for that splash, but maybe he realizes the fanbase is already over their limits of patience. (maybe not.) Some seem to think he is likely not reading the room or is reading it but cares very little for that.

The budget seems to get all or most of the attention, but to me, the willingn ess to allow a big splash trade or two is equally important. If we make one big splash trade, without a swing and miss, I could imagine is not spending much more than 2024 and being able to fill the other holes to a point where we can compete in 2025. If JH agrees to spend up to but below the line, I think it would be very possible to build a winner, again assuming a big splash trade, too.

Maybe my pink glasses are overpowering.

 

Your pink glasses are one of your best features, especially given that the John Henry era is the most successful in Sox history.  

I especially like your "big splash" comment, which I take to mean go after real talent aggressively, but don't sell the farm.   This fits nicely with your points about all the other talent the Sox already have in Boston and on the farm.  

At the same time, however, a "big splash" for a starter is exactly what JH seems to have sworn he will never do again.  

[Maxbialystock]

2 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

He kind of imploded right away, no?

It was just not Brez's year with the trades.  Better luck next time. We hope.

I have badmouthed Breslow relentlessly, but I would have no objection to having him remain as CBO.  Bringing in Bailey was a key move.  I think he also selected a bunch of pitchers in the last draft.  

[mvp 78]

16 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

Your pink glasses are one of your best features, especially given that the John Henry era is the most successful in Sox history.  

WAS the most successful. 

[Old Red]

17 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

I have badmouthed Breslow relentlessly, but I would have no objection to having him remain as CBO.  Bringing in Bailey was a key move.  I think he also selected a bunch of pitchers in the last draft.  

I don’t think JH would get rid of his trusted HOBO after just one year no matter how much he sucked. Bad decisions, bad luck, or just s*** happening withstanding.

[moonslav59]

26 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

He kind of imploded right away, no?

It was just not Brez's year with the trades.  Better luck next time, hopefully.

Agreed. Some trades are pending a grade:

Dugo for Fitts, Weissert & Judice (The Dugo part is about done and was not good for NYY)

Urias for I Campbell (Urias has not done well.)

Schreiber for Sandlin (Schreiber did okay and has another year of control)

Robertson & Santos for O'Neill seems to have worked for us, but the trade is over on our end in a week- not theirs.

The deadline deals sucked.

The Sale deal sucked, despite Grissom still have 4 years to go.

 

[Bellhorn04]

The Dugo trade actually looks pretty darn good.

[moonslav59]

39 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

Your pink glasses are one of your best features, especially given that the John Henry era is the most successful in Sox history.  

I especially like your "big splash" comment, which I take to mean go after real talent aggressively, but don't sell the farm.   This fits nicely with your points about all the other talent the Sox already have in Boston and on the farm.  

At the same time, however, a "big splash" for a starter is exactly what JH seems to have sworn he will never do again.  

Well, apparently JH swore no pitchers over 30 to long term contracts then signed Price to a mega deal.

I'm not sure he ever said these words.

JH also okay'd the extension to Nate for ages 29, 30, 31 and 32 and Sale to ages 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35.

Now, since then, there has been nothing close to a long term deal for any FA pitcher that was even rumored to be offered.

Bello's 6 year deal is it ($55M.)

[notin]

34 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Well, apparently JH swore no pitchers over 30 to long term contracts then signed Price to a mega deal.

I'm not sure he ever said these words.

JH also okay'd the extension to Nate for ages 29, 30, 31 and 32 and Sale to ages 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35.

Now, since then, there has been nothing close to a long term deal for any FA pitcher that was even rumored to be offered.

Bello's 6 year deal is it ($55M.)

Hopefully similar deals (not similar in terms of money) will follow for Houck and Crawford…

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, notin said:

Hopefully similar deals (not similar in terms of money) will follow for Houck and Crawford…

Extending Houck would be great. I'd be fine with a Crawford one, too.

Maybe Slaten is worth a gamble, at such an inexperienced point in his  career.

[sk7326]

On 9/23/2024 at 1:45 PM, moonslav59 said:

Agreed. Some trades are pending a grade:

Dugo for Fitts, Weissert & Judice (The Dugo part is about done and was not good for NYY)

Urias for I Campbell (Urias has not done well.)

Schreiber for Sandlin (Schreiber did okay and has another year of control)

Robertson & Santos for O'Neill seems to have worked for us, but the trade is over on our end in a week- not theirs.

The deadline deals sucked.

The Sale deal sucked, despite Grissom still have 4 years to go.

 

While the Schreiber deal is not complete ... I do think that represents good process regardless of what happens.  With the sheer lack of starting arms in the system, getting one with a middle reliever was a good use of resources. 

Kind of ditto for the Verdugo trade.  

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

On 9/23/2024 at 10:21 AM, Bellhorn04 said:

He kind of imploded right away, no?

It was just not Brez's year with the trades.  Better luck next time, hopefully.

You make your own luck. Here's how suspicious I've groan: even though moves the past half decade are on Bloom's Watch or Breslow's Watch, I just cannot overlook they may be forced to listen to the bad advice of the same Henry lifers and flunkies from an overstaffed front office...

Brez on WEEI, 9/26/24: "we’re looking at monitoring workload and understanding whether or not we’re asking more of guys than they are equipped to handle and if that means we need to change offseason conditioning or in-season workloads …"

5Gs replies, same day: "Here's a change: stop conditioning fans to root for pasta you're throwing against the wall to see what sticks. Hint - it's not undercooked, it's boiled down to mush. And stop pretending to rely on broken-down leftovers like Paxton and Hill -- two old loads pushing 80 years old!"