Everyone wants approval from their bosses, and that seems to be what Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has going for him these days.
Breslow's first two years and change as the leader of baseball operations in Boston have certainly been a roller coaster. There have been some moves that were unquestioned home runs, but others, namely the saga that played out around the Alex Bregman signing/Rafael Devers trade, have left some in the fan base with a sour taste in their mouth.
Chief executive officer Sam Kennedy was asked about his opinion on Breslow's job performance on Sunday, and per Tim Healey of The Boston Globe, Kennedy said he was "very, very pleased with Craig and everybody in baseball operations, for that matter.”
“The results speak for themselves,” he said. “It’s been a good first couple of years for Bres and very confident in him and his ability to lead this baseball operation.”
Among the wins for Breslow: the blockbuster trade to get ace Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox, the subsequent extension for Crochet, an eight-year extension for young star outfielder Roman Anthony, and beefing up the rotation this winter with the acquisitions of Sonny Gray, Ranger Suárez, and Johan Oviedo, all without giving up any of the club's top-tier prospects.
It's within Kennedy's rights to skip over the failures, but we're here to point them out as well. Breslow unquestionably played a role in the mishandling of the Devers saga, and his inability to add starting pitching at the trade deadline, as well as one more big bat, probably sank the Red Sox's season. And whoever you hold at fault, if you even believe it was a "failure," the Red Sox clearly got serious about re-signing Bregman too late this offseason.