Craig Breslow: Red Sox CBO
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Also, the Tigers hired Scott Harris as President of Baseball Ops and then went almost the whole season without hiring a GM.
My number 1 skill that I wanted in the next Red Sox CBO was the ability to identify and develop young pitching. So I’m happy with the hire.
I'd say this, plus the confidence in his judgment on both the individual and the roster-wide level so that when a move needs to happen, he *knows* what he needs to do. All the other details he and his staff can fill in along the way.
This couldn’t possibly have been the plan when they fired Chaim. Weren’t they supposedly looking for someone with more experience/ success making bold trades and signing big name free agents?
So it looks like all of those candidates weren’t interested and so they went for the best up-and-coming talent they could land. I guess that’s a much bolder move than going with Lavine, but it’s definitely the type of thing you more expect of a much smaller market. Hopefully Breslow lives up to his promise but it’s a bit sad that the Sox front office put themselves in this position.
So it looks like all of those candidates weren’t interested and so they went for the best up-and-coming talent they could land. I guess that’s a much bolder move than going with Lavine, but it’s definitely the type of thing you more expect of a much smaller market. Hopefully Breslow lives up to his promise but it’s a bit sad that the Sox front office put themselves in this position.
Not a huge fan of this. A lot of the job is negotiating - particularly with free agents who have other options. He can't have much experience at that - and speaking as someone who makes their living negotiating contracts - experience matters. Being smart helps (if he is) and being a former player helps too. I guess in some ways Henry is always looking for Billy Beane.
This is right. I’m excited by the hire, just like I’m excited about every shiny, toolsy prospect that hasn’t busted yet.
I suspect that there is great overlap in how one reacts to this hire and how much one falls for each new prospect. For me it’s “This guy’s got 80-grade brains and seems to have 80-grade pitching development skills! I’m all in!!”
For years I tried to kick the prospect habit and tried to be more rational. Never could. Might as well be all into this ‘prospect’ too.
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Why? Because they don’t want the appearance of the new guy just inheriting Cora, like what happened with Bloom. They want the new guy to be the one to extend him even if the decision has already been made within the organization to extend Cora.
Breslow is going to have an easy time with this job, stepping into it with the best farm system ever. It's almost unfair!
More seriously; I like this move based on what we know about his character and achievements on the field. In my opinion, he's one of those guys that made the most out of what he had, and he did it by being sharp about the game.
More seriously; I like this move based on what we know about his character and achievements on the field. In my opinion, he's one of those guys that made the most out of what he had, and he did it by being sharp about the game.
I like the "dont fuck with me" tone of this:
https://www.strike3foundation.org/news/red-sox-pitcher-craig-breslow-strikes-out-globe-remarks-on-athlete-charities/
https://www.strike3foundation.org/news/red-sox-pitcher-craig-breslow-strikes-out-globe-remarks-on-athlete-charities/
It is a good reply. The original article made a good point, but it painted with a very broad brush that unfairly catches good athlete foundations with ones that do hire unqualified friends and family members.
Why do we assume they had a specific plan when they fired Bloom? I think the only thing we can assume is that they wanted someone/something different, otherwise why make a change at all? I think any other expectations of the type of person they were looking for were speculation and projection based on our own wants.
Kennedy said that their intent was to cast a wide net with their search. I believe "robust" was the word used. That doesn't strike me as an efficient strategy if they're looking for a specific type of candidate. The result of the search suggests that they indeed had an open mind, because who had Breslow on the radar a month ago (other than Gammons for a pitching development role)?
In that vein, I'm keeping an open mind and not judging the hire now. I had no real preference because I can't pretend to know who or what the best candidate should look like. I'm not disappointed nor excited. I hope it goes well.
The only thing that matters is how highly he things of Corey Rosier, right?
Breslow doesn’t have a head of org record to evaluate, so it’s all speculative, but I’m hopeful that in an organization that has other structures already in place, a new head can make good use of what’s already set and not need to tear them to the ground.
The assumption is that significant portions of the operation (such as: minor scouting, pro scouting, player dev, and majors and minors coaching), are not so broken they need to be razed and re-built.
Seconded. Breslow seems like a smart guy and a good person. It might make sense if Bloom was completely dysfunctional and they just need a smoothly turning gear in the machine. But I don't think that's the case, and so Breslow is going to be a rookie GM (or whatever the acronym is, but I'll just stick with GM) without a ton of experience in an organization that does not seem to have it's ducks in a row.
The job is going to remove him from pitching development (and the jury's out to how good he is at that) and put him in an entirely different role.
In some senses I like it. But it could easily be a disaster. Breslow "learning on the job" and getting his feet under him 2-3 years from now pretty much would qualify as a disaster.
Theo was 28 and had never had a GM job before being hired (I don't believe he had typical GM duties in his final role at the Padres), and he worked out OK, IIRC.
To me, the biggest issue remains whether ownership has enough patience to see through the rebuilding process that started in 2020, and how Breslow is able to navigate that massive landmine.
To me, the biggest issue remains whether ownership has enough patience to see through the rebuilding process that started in 2020, and how Breslow is able to navigate that massive landmine.
View: https://twitter.com/IanCundall/status/1717005706052698459
View: https://twitter.com/SPChrisHatfield/status/1717016888805318868
By all accounts, the Red Sox also have been focusing on maximizing velo... they just have been doing it with pitchers who start lower on the velo spectrum. But yeah, we shall see what happens. There are some pretty good raw pieces in the system that could be just a tweak or two away.
View: https://twitter.com/SPChrisHatfield/status/1717016888805318868
I assume Breslow blames Reese for his career ending.
As much as I agree with this, and this is going to pain me to say this as I'm almost certain that he has a ledger of souls owed in his study, but Larry Luccino was there for Theo.
Pretty good MassLive article on the hiring & process, including that multiple people who were interviewed said the #1 would have autonomy to pick the #2.
& this stuff all makes me happy...
https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2023/10/craig-breslow-gets-red-sox-chief-baseball-officer-title-may-wait-to-tab-gm.html
Hopefully Yale-graduate CAB from Newton has a longer run as CBO than Yale-graduate CDB from Newton.
& this stuff all makes me happy...
View: https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1717034757006004467
https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2023/10/craig-breslow-gets-red-sox-chief-baseball-officer-title-may-wait-to-tab-gm.html
Hopefully Yale-graduate CAB from Newton has a longer run as CBO than Yale-graduate CDB from Newton.
Theo most definitely had experience with at least some GM duties when he was hired. He was in law school while he worked for the Padres, and because of that and a relatively small staff in a cheap organization, he was often tapped to help with negotiations by Kevin Towers. Basically his law school experience meant he was more familiar with contract language than anyone in the office. Big factor in how he rose so quickly there and subsequently with the Red Sox.
Even if Breslow has limited to no experience with some aspects of the job, presumably O'Halloran and Romero do. I can only assume that's what they're counting on: a shared approach.
Why? Because they’ll get worked in trades and free agency? He won’t do well in the draft? His job is making personnel decisions based on a vision for the roster and knowledge of his and other organizations’ talent, managing a large team of people whose job it is to get this done. Everyone seems to think he knows a lot about talent assessment, and the organizational plan is all set up for someone to come in and execute it. Failure looks like he brings in a bunch of guys who he ends up being wrong about, or they just get hurt, but the former is what he’s been up to with the Cubs and the latter is bad luck.
I am a lawyer that negotiates/drafts contracts/deals everyday, and I can tell you that law school does nothing in teaching you that stuff. It’s all learning by doing.
Everyone who's become a GM or CBO for the first time was never one before, but LL also had Theo get a law degree while in SD so that he would be an asset to the organization, specifically pertaining to contract negotiations. He was definitely being groomed for a larger role.
Beaten to it by RHF a few posts up.
All this hand wringing about negotiating contracts... it's a baseball contract, it has basically two variables: duration and money. The parameters of the work are pretty standard (play baseball). There's a little bit of poker strategy dealing with the other competitors but at the end of the day it's basically a matter of pick two numbers you like and work around them.
John Henry can afford some lawyers to help write the language, that's not Breslows job.
John Henry can afford some lawyers to help write the language, that's not Breslows job.
I have trouble comparing the Theo situation to the Breslow situation at all.
First, Larry Lucchino was running the Red Sox, straight out of the owners mouth. Theo was a complement to him in terms of probably everything - personality, skill set, old school/new school, etc.
I can't figure out what Sam Kennedy does, but it's not what Lucchino does. Obviously Henry/Werner are grooming him to be the face of ownership, but to these eyes and ears, he's kind of another Werner - buzz words and pom poms. The current POBO is much more the face of day to day decisionmaking.
What is fascinating to me about how everything has transpired is that they looked at a front office that has produced two terrible seasons in a row and decided that everyone in it deserved a raise and a promotion except Bloom. That's a complete indictment on the guy. This wasn't them tearing it down, this is the team thinking that they have all the pieces in place to run a great baseball team, except the guy on top was holding everything back. Not my opinion (I based GM and MGR on wins and losses, so I don't feel capable of evaluating how the sausage gets made), but clearly what the team determined.
Further, have to figure that Sam Kennedy's best friend, who is obviously well tuned into what is going on in baseball, probably let his best friend know that Bloom wasn't cut for the job, hard to think that the replacement is a direct hire of Theo Epstein and that Theo's voice wasn't part of the decision tree.
My instincts are that Theo Epstein thinks the Red Sox are better today, and that's good enough in my eyes given that I'd like to watch some baseball that matters again.
First, Larry Lucchino was running the Red Sox, straight out of the owners mouth. Theo was a complement to him in terms of probably everything - personality, skill set, old school/new school, etc.
I can't figure out what Sam Kennedy does, but it's not what Lucchino does. Obviously Henry/Werner are grooming him to be the face of ownership, but to these eyes and ears, he's kind of another Werner - buzz words and pom poms. The current POBO is much more the face of day to day decisionmaking.
What is fascinating to me about how everything has transpired is that they looked at a front office that has produced two terrible seasons in a row and decided that everyone in it deserved a raise and a promotion except Bloom. That's a complete indictment on the guy. This wasn't them tearing it down, this is the team thinking that they have all the pieces in place to run a great baseball team, except the guy on top was holding everything back. Not my opinion (I based GM and MGR on wins and losses, so I don't feel capable of evaluating how the sausage gets made), but clearly what the team determined.
Further, have to figure that Sam Kennedy's best friend, who is obviously well tuned into what is going on in baseball, probably let his best friend know that Bloom wasn't cut for the job, hard to think that the replacement is a direct hire of Theo Epstein and that Theo's voice wasn't part of the decision tree.
My instincts are that Theo Epstein thinks the Red Sox are better today, and that's good enough in my eyes given that I'd like to watch some baseball that matters again.
This is the second consecutive FO #1 the Sox have hired that is younger than me. I'm not sure I will ever see another one that is older.
This rings very true to me. We used to hear a lot about how “the contract came with extra tickets or better hotel rooms” or whatever, but I can’t imagine that stuff mattering to a guy getting tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. Years and AAV, that’s it. The rest is just talking to a guy about culture and playing opportunity and whether they will win a lot.
Same. Experience matters in negotiating. The T&C's are seldom that complicated - that isn't why I have a job.
Who's suggesting anything different?
The only reason law school was brought up is that that happened to be the reason that Theo got into the room so early and gained the kind of on-the-job experience that helped him rise up and become a GM by age 28. No one is saying law school is some sort of requirement to being a GM/CBO/HBO/POBO/whatever.
I was responding to to this bit:
[/QUOTE]
I doubt he was any more familiar with contract language than anyone else at his level in the office at the time, and I think Breslow probably has more familiarity now with contract language than Theo did at the time.
I am presently in law school and the idea that any of what I learned in Contracts prepared me to be a baseball GM is laughable. No. Not at all.
This section of Chad Jennings' piece in The Athletic addresses some of my fears that he was only the pitching development guy in Chicago.
Reading all of the articles that have come out recently on Breslow, it seems like Theo thinks incredibly highly of him and I would guess put in a very strong recommendation for him to Sam Kennedy.
I really like the hire. Breslow seems like he could be a star. The only hiccup is his lack of experience. Hopefully the remaining Boston execs and a new outside hire can help ease the transition
I really like the hire. Breslow seems like he could be a star. The only hiccup is his lack of experience. Hopefully the remaining Boston execs and a new outside hire can help ease the transition
Lack of experience is potentially offset by his familiarity with the organization and market, IMO. I’m assuming that he already knows at least some of the holdovers, and that they presumably will be interested and open to helping him get up to speed.
As a buddy of mine said in our text chain, a nerd who also played and won a WS title is an intriguing mix of skills/personality/experiences to bring to the job. I’m cautiously optimistic about this hire. It’s definitely a risk due to his lack of experience running an FO, but I do think his background and intelligence make him a strong candidate to be a quick study. I hope he has the full support and resources of the organization behind him. I suspect after 3 last place finishes in 4 seasons, he will.
As a biologist who works in a medical center, I am pleased that one of our brethren (or at least a guy trained in the sciences) got this job.
We need pitching expertise from the bottom of the org to the MLB club, Breslow has it. I wish him well. Bloom is a smart guy but he let this pitching staff run on fumes for half this season, hopefully, this will not be repeated.
We need pitching expertise from the bottom of the org to the MLB club, Breslow has it. I wish him well. Bloom is a smart guy but he let this pitching staff run on fumes for half this season, hopefully, this will not be repeated.
Would guess tomorrow, before the World Series embargo on announcements kicks in.
Who knew that being Jewish was such an advantage in the Sox hiring process?
I kid. But at a time like this, it's a welcomed perk that he is.
Back to baseball, I like the move. Breslow has been around jobs like this, garnered respect in the industry, played the game and is a Red Sox champion to boot, is clearly intelligent, is an outsider of sorts and is young and presumably energetic.
That checks a lot of boxes for me.
I hope he's willing to spend and build from within, and is aggresive.
You never really know what you're getting with a guy who has not been in this exact job before but color me as optimistic.
I kid. But at a time like this, it's a welcomed perk that he is.
Back to baseball, I like the move. Breslow has been around jobs like this, garnered respect in the industry, played the game and is a Red Sox champion to boot, is clearly intelligent, is an outsider of sorts and is young and presumably energetic.
That checks a lot of boxes for me.
I hope he's willing to spend and build from within, and is aggresive.
You never really know what you're getting with a guy who has not been in this exact job before but color me as optimistic.
View: https://twitter.com/pgammo/status/1717120590593642709
Gammons seems to be saying without saying it that Theo gave his full endorsement
Because he's never done the job before. Nor did he train for it, or shadow it, or apprentice. And he's got only 4 years experience on the .org side of things.
Now he's in a new power structure with new personalities. . .one that other GM candidates declined to interview for.
It's entirely possible he does well. It's entirely possible he does not.
I mean, we seem to think the job matters right? Like the GM would have an impact? (I can't really tell with the board anymore.)
The piece in The Athletic referenced a few posts above yours does seem to indicate that Breslow was effectively shadowing the GM position during his Cubs tenure and was involved in numerous aspects besides just coordinating pitching development.
