Things have not gone according to plan since Craig Breslow fired well-thought-of manager Alex Cora, and Breslow’s seat is getting especially hot according to Ken Rosenthal.
The Athletic’s MLB insider named the Boston Red Sox executive as one of the most under-pressure front-office bosses ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
The Red Sox are in last place in the American League East entering their four-game series against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on Thursday night. Boston trails its AL East rivals by 15.5 games.
The Red Sox are 22-29 under interim manager Chad Tracy, who took over April 26 after Cora was let go.
Ken Rosenthal: Craig Breslow is Under Immense Pressure
GettyCraig Breslow is under pressure to save his job ahead of the MLB trade deadline Aug. 3.
The fact the Philadelphia Phillies effectively fired their manager to replace him with Cora, after the near-mutiny in the Red Sox clubhouse, effectively tells you how well-thought of Cora is.
According to Rosenthal, firing Cora raised the temperature on his own seat, and it has gotten progressively hotter the worse the Sox have played.
“The first sentence of the column I wrote after the firing of Alex Cora was, ‘Craig Breslow is next.’ Nothing that has transpired since has changed my opinion,” Rosenthal wrote in The Athletic on Thursday. “It’s obvious where this is heading, particularly with an ownership that is forever in search of someone to blame.”
Breslow is, of course, a former major leaguer with a degree from Yale and does have some bright spots in his body of work. He offloaded Rafael Devers’ ill-fated contract, acquired Willson Contreras and can take credit for both the Sonny Gray trade and Aroldis Chapman’s acquisition.
Still, all that has the Red Sox in dead last in the American League and with one of the league’s worst offenses after their series loss in Colorado. Breslow has to do some heavy lifting to ward off his impending demise, especially since his boss is feeling shame in how Boston has played.
“CEO Sam Kennedy recently said during his weekly radio appearance on WEEI that the removal of Breslow was ‘not on the table,'” Rosenthal wrote. “But he also called the team’s season ’embarrassing.'”
The Red Sox Will Need to Turn Things Around Quickly to Save Craig Breslow’s job
Red Sox players likely don’t care whether or not Breslow is let go.
His tenure has been fraught with PR disasters, including the Devers saga last year and the Cora firing this season, only to name a few. Rosenthal effectively declared him a dead-man walking.
“Breslow is in third season. His predecessors — Ben Cherington, Dave Dombrowski and Chaim Bloom — all were fired in their fourth,” Rosenthal wrote. “When assessing Breslow’s body of work, it’s doubtful ownership would determine he warrants one more shot.”
Breslow would not publicly wave the white flag yet, since they are only six games out of a playoff spot. But it would take a minor miracle for the Red Sox to hop the eight teams ahead of them, even in the awful AL, which would turn the heat back onto Breslow to fetch a game-changing haul for their pending free agents.
“The deadline is five-and-a-half weeks away,” Rosenthal wrote. “Breslow is not yet ready to give up on the season, and even when he does, Sonny Gray, Aroldis Chapman and Co. will bring only so much.”
MLB Insider Puts Spotlight on Red Sox Exec Craig Breslow as Trade Deadline Nears