Red Sox’s Craig Breslow Doubles Down On Trade Deadline Mindset

Craig Breslow doesn’t intend to sit on the fence as he approaches his first MLB trade deadline as Red Sox chief baseball officer.

Boston’s unique spot leaves Breslow in a tough spot. The club has exceeded expectations and put itself in the postseason conversation, thus making buying a practical option over the next few weeks. That said, the Red Sox and their young core have a bright future, which could become even brighter if Breslow and company sell to bring in more assets.

So, there are cases to be made for both options. But Breslow plans to lean into only one of them, as trying to play both sides can often be detrimental.

“I think you can try to balance short and long term,” Breslow said on NESN’s “310 To Left” podcast. “I think you can try to move the organization in the right direction, but you have to be convicted in the short-term execution of whatever the steps are that will get you there. That’s what I mean by picking a lane. Conceptually, it sounds great to balance those things out by doing the buy-sell, add and subtract. I think what often happens when you try to go down both paths is you end up with neither. It’s really, really complicated to successfully execute that. To me, the one thing that we need to do is determine what we are trying to accomplish and be completely convicted and decisive in accomplishing that.”

The Red Sox certainly are doing their part to make the decision easier for Breslow. Boston played excellent baseball leading up to the break, and it now only sits 4 1/2 games back of first place in the American League East. Breslow might have even tipped his hand about his deadline plan during the Red Sox’s final game before the All-Star pause.

In any event, it won’t be too much longer until Boston fans become abreast of Breslow’s plan. The MLB trade deadline is set for July 30.