MLB insider claims ‘teams hate dealing with Red Sox,’ ‘very tough’ to make trades with Craig Breslow
“When you talk to GMs around the game, they said it’s very tough to deal with the Red Sox and Craig Breslow in particular.”
Coming off a lackluster 2025 MLB trade deadline in which the Red Sox made only two deals, an MLB insider is reporting that general managers find it difficult to make deals with Boston.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale claimed Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow isn’t the easiest to work with on an episode of “Foul Territory” on Friday. Nightengale went as far as to say that clubs “hate dealing with” him and Boston.
“Teams hate dealing with the Red Sox. I guess it’s just very tough to do with [Craig] Breslow,” he said. “When you talk to GMs around the game, they said it’s very tough to deal with the Red Sox and Craig Breslow in particular.”
Nightengale’s report comes after Breslow reportedly struggled to get to the finish line with the Minnesota Twins and acquire starting pitcher Joe Ryan.
However, Nightengale said he doesn’t believe Boston ever came close to landing Ryan. Reports had linked the Red Sox and the right-hander dating back to early June.
“I don’t think they were ever really in on Joe Ryan,” Nightengale said. “I’m not sure if they even had conversations. … If they’re really going for it, they did a poor job because the Yankees got a lot better. Blue Jays got better. So, I think they’re going to be on the outside looking in. I think the fact that they didn’t do anything, they may be sitting home and the Texas Rangers take their place as that wild card team.”
Nightengale also said that Boston was in talks with the Arizona Diamondbacks to trade for starting pitcher Merrill Kelly, but those discussions “fell apart at the end.” The Texas Rangers ultimately landed Kelly in exchange for three prospects.
After the trade deadline, Nightengale’s report is easy for Red Sox fans to cling to. Breslow landed Steven Matz from the St. Louis Cardinals early Thursday morning, a 34-year-old relief pitcher with a 3.44 ERA through 32 appearances. Matz is due to become a free agent after this season.
Breslow capped off the deadline by trading for starting pitcher Dustin May from the Los Angeles Dodgers minutes before the 6 p.m. deadline reached. May, who has struggled this season (4.85 ERA through 19 games), will also become a free agent in a few months.
In a vacuum, those trades should benefit a Red Sox pitching staff that needed the help. But given their reported interest in arms like Kelly and Ryan, it does seem like a disappointment. The Red Sox also could’ve used a first baseman.
Boston stands at 60-51 and is in third place in the American League East. It’s also in possession of the AL’s second wild card spot after its win on Friday.
Nightengale’s report about MLB executives finding it difficult to deal with Breslow points back to executives within Boston’s front office who also find it hard to work with the chief baseball officer. ESPN’s Jeff Passan’s bombshell column following the Rafael Devers trade in June outlined how at least one person in the Red Sox’ building felt about Breslow.
“Since the cuts, Breslow’s circle of trust has been small and his reliance on the team’s analytical model heavy, according to sources, leaving some longtime employees embittered,” Passan wrote on June 20. “Breslow loyalists fear the consequences of that, with one saying: “There are definitely turncoats internally plotting against Bres.”
Nightengale’s report also sounds similar to the way executives described Chaim Bloom when he previously held Breslow’s role in Boston.
“That approach added to a fairly widespread frustration among other clubs when it came to making trades with Bloom, who was viewed as a difficult trade partner who overvalued his own players,” The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reported upon Bloom’s firing in September 2023.
Given Boston’s decision to move on from Bloom, who also saw his share of lackluster trade deadlines with the Red Sox, it’s a tough blow to hear other teams view Breslow similarly to Bloom when it comes time to improve the club.
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