Red Sox Video
The song “Right Hand Man” in the groundbreaking Broadway musical Hamilton introduces George Washington, then the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. In the midst of the New York and New Jersey Campaign, he laments about his “dire need for assistance”. Subsequently, Alexander Hamilton, the titular protagonist of the musical, is appointed Aide-De-Camp to the Commander-in-Chief. Much like Washington, Craig Breslow, the Red Sox’s Chief Baseball Officer (CBO), is looking for his right-hand man. Rob Bradford of WEEI reported that Breslow will focus on hiring a general manager in the offseason. Since hiring Breslow in October 2023, the Red Sox have operated without a GM for nearly two years. Now, it looks like things will change this offseason.
Baseball’s hiring cycle starts towards the end of the regular season and concludes shortly after the Winter Meetings in December. Glancing at an MLB job board in mid-September, you’ll see hundreds of entry-level job postings. On the other hand, executive-level front office roles are spread through word of mouth. If a team fires its GM in the middle of the season, one can surmise that the team will fill the position in the offseason.
Corporate hierarchy lingo has always befuddled me (Succession was my first and only introduction to C-suite roles in corporate America). Titles vary between teams across the league. Throughout my life, the Red Sox have utilized varying degrees of corporate jargon to designate the person steering baseball operations, including General Manager, President of Baseball Operations, and Chief Baseball Officer. For the current structure of the Red Sox’s front office, the General Manager will work under Craig Breslow.
Baseball operations executives wear many hats, managing finances, engaging in negotiations to secure deals, and delving into baseball analytics to field a winning roster. After almost two years as the Red Sox’s CBO, it’s evident that Breslow excels in player development. Under his leadership, the Red Sox acquired Aroldis Chapman, a veteran reliever who was seemingly past his prime, but he has rejuvenated his career with the team this year. He also threw caution to the wind and shipped top prospects to the White Sox in exchange for Garrett Crochet, an elite ace the team desperately needed. Crochet’s strong performance in his first season with the team has garnered attention about a potential Cy Young Award.
The new GM’s role will likely involve administering player acquisitions and roster turnover, areas of weakness for Breslow. He’s whiffed on some moves, ex. trading Chris Sale for Vaughn Grissom in December 2023 and receiving James Tibbs III (later dealt for Dustin May), Kyle Harrison, and Jordan Hicks for Rafael Devers this past June. Trade deadlines have been another weak spot for Breslow. According to Fangraphs, the Red Sox currently hold a 95.6% chance of making the playoffs. While Steven Matz (1.62 ERA in 16 2/3 IP) has quietly been a solid reliever for the Red Sox, the team should’ve done more to strengthen their rotation at the deadline. After the Joe Ryan deal fell through, the Red Sox didn’t have a backup plan. Having another person primarily focused on contingency planning would have prevented the team from scrambling at the last minute to acquire Dustin May.
While some CBOs/GMs excel at player development and roster transactions, Breslow has not yet proven he’s one of those guys. Acknowledging your shortcomings is the first step to solving them. Will Breslow break out in a song to kickstart his search for a GM? Probably not, but this is a good step for the organization’s future.
Who do you think the Red Sox should consider for a GM? Let us know in the comments!
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now