Craig Breslow talks Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela and ways to improve Red Sox lineup
Breslow wants to stick to the plan with Anthony, even as Red Sox fans clamor for his arrival.
The noise is getting louder every day surrounding Roman Anthony and the struggling Boston Red Sox. But even still, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow wants to block that noise out.
The Red Sox stumbled again on Saturday, losing 5-0 to the Braves and falling to 28-32 at the end of May. Offseason expectations were set high for Boston, not only by fans but by Breslow, Cora, and the Red Sox themselves. So far, those expectations aren’t close to being met.
All the while, Anthony continues to light it up in Triple-A Worcester, batting .303 with eight home runs and a .941 OPS as he awaits his MLB call-up. But Breslow still wants to hold out a little longer before pulling the trigger.
“We’re trying to balance what’s best for Roman and his development with where we are as a team and the way that we’re prioritizing our 2025 season,” Breslow told reporters Saturday. “We try to lean on the goals and process that you think about in the offseason when the noise isn’t quite so loud. I think you also have to be willing to react to the situation you have right now.
“It’s impossible to ignore the performance he’s had in Triple A and how that is lining up with our struggles here in the big league level. But we are also trying to be comfortable with the environment that we put him in, what he still has to work on, what the pressure and demands would be, and try to get him there.”
Inserting Anthony into the lineup is far easier on paper than in practice, too. While Ceddanne Rafaela’s season-long struggles offensively are glaring, his defensive presence has been an asset to the Red Sox.
Breslow acknowledged that when asked if he’s had conversations with Rafaela about moving to the infield.
“We saw last year that I think both he’s capable of providing a ton of flexibility but also that the transition takes a little bit of time. And I think we’ve also seen him be an elite defensive center fielder we’ve always known him to be,” Breslow said. “It’s a little bit harder to appreciate the value that provides because you know he’s preventing runs from scoring and you make a great catch and its not as easy to think about how a run isn’t getting across home plate.
“But there’s no doubt that he’s provided a ton of value to our team.”
How will Breslow, Boston approach first base moving forward?
The loss of Triston Casas created a ripple effect that Boston is still feeling. The Red Sox are still searching for a longterm solution at first base. Kristian Campbell began practicing at that spot a few weeks ago and will play first base during this weekend series.
“I think there’s a bunch of ways that we can address this and we have to be open to any of those,” Breslow said. “Our hope is somebody will be able to step in and nail that down, but the same thing we’ve seen kind of on the pitching side, some of maximizing our roster is going to be having to move some guys around.”
Trading for an infielder doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibilities for Breslow and company, either. But it’s a little too early to tell who might be available at the end of July when the MLB trade deadline nears.
“We try to be as proactive and aggressive as we can in engaging, but its true that teams are still trying to figure out who they are and what direction they want to take,” Breslow said. “But that doesn’t mean that we’re not going to keep calling and keep having conversations because we’re looking to improve our team in any way we can.”
The Red Sox have plenty left to figure out if they hope to turn their season around. Anthony alone may not be the savior, but he could be one piece of the solution. Alex Bregman’s eventual return from the injured list would also provide a lift, but his timeline remains hazy. Boston will have to be competitive enough to still be in the playoff hunt when he returns.
“We had high expectations coming into this season, and thus far we’ve fallen short of that,” Breslow told reporters. “That is the stark reality of where we’re at right now.”
Breslow’s full press conference is available online via MassLive’s “Fenway Rundown” podcast.
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