What Craig Breslow said about Red Sox’ long-term direction
"It’s going to require aggressive player development in the minor leagues."
What was once looking like a promising offseason for the Red Sox has fizzled in short order.
With less than a month to go before pitchers and catchers report in Fort Myers, Boston has done little to shift the momentum of a franchise coming off a last-place finish for the third time in four seasons.
Yes, Craig Breslow and the Red Sox have augmented their roster in several ways. Boston traded away pieces like Chris Sale and Alex Verdugo — while adding new faces like righty Lucas Giolito, second baseman Vaughn Grissom, and outfielder Tyler O’Neil.
But Boston has primarily stayed on the sideline as several marquee free agents have put pen to paper on sizable contracts. Despite being linked to franchise-altering targets like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Red Sox have not flexed their fiscal muscle this winter.
Boston currently has a projected payroll of a little over $200 million — with close to $36 million available to spend before hitting the first competitive tax threshold of $237 million. The Red Sox have the leeway to hand out a hefty contract to a proven starter like Jordan Montgomery and remain under that $237 million ceiling if need be.
But according to a report from MassLive’s Chris Cotillo last month, the Red Sox informed one free-agent target that they needed to shed even more payroll before “aggressively” pursuing him.
On Tuesday, Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe asked Breslow about whether or not he still believes the team ownership is committed to building a contending roster.
The new Red Sox chief baseball officer’s comments offered a glimpse at Boston’s potential long-term outlook. And it might result in a few more years of baseball purgatory for fans going to Fenway.
“That’s a fair question,” Breslow told Abraham. “As I’ve gotten to know this organization better through the conversations I’ve had with ownership, they absolutely are still supportive of assembling a World Series team as quickly as we possibly can. But I think the reality is that it’s going to require a step forward from the young position players. It’s going to require the build-out of a talent pipeline of arms that we can acquire, we draft, and we can develop internally.
“And it’s going to require aggressive player development in the minor leagues and the major leagues so guys that we think are the next wave — [Marcelo] Mayer and [Roman] Anthony and [Kyle] Teel, that group — are not just big leaguers but impact big leaguers. The convergence of all those pieces is the fastest path to a World Series team … We want to build this thing in a way that there’s not just quality once in a while but there’s quality paired with consistency.”
There’s no question that the future is bright in Boston as far as its prospect pipeline, with blue-chip talents like Anthony, Teel, and Mayer all knocking at the door of MLB competition — potentially as early as this summer.
But as Boston awaits the eventual arrival of its next crop of top talents, the immediate returns in 2024 could set the Red Sox up as a punching bag in the AL East once again.
“I know at this point it sounds like kind of empty words to say we’re engaged in every path and trying to pursue every opportunity, but it’s true that we are, and they don’t always work out,” Breslow told Abraham of Boston’s search for starting pitching.
“We’re still going to work as hard as we possibly can towards that. There are still pitchers out there. We’re still engaged in conversations with free agents and teams via trade. “It’s been a challenge. I think a lot of teams are seeing that. Starting pitching is highly, highly desirable.”
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