The Boston Red Sox are hiring Craig Breslow as their next Chief Baseball Officer, the team publicly announced Wednesday afternoon.
Reports of the Red Sox deciding on Breslow first surfaced Tuesday night, as he was apparently the only candidate who had gone through two interviews with the club. Roughly a dozen other options either removed themselves from consideration or declined to interview entirely, paving the path for Breslow to sign the dotted line before the offseason even began.
Breslow, 43, spent the past three seasons as the Chicago Cubs' Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Pitching. He joined the organization in 2019 under the mentorship of Theo Epstein, who had been Boston's GM from 2003 to 2011.
"We feel strongly that Craig is the right person at the right time to lead our baseball department," principal owner John Henry said in a statement. "Craig's understanding of the game is remarkable. What convinced us to bring him aboard in this capacity was his highly strategic philosophy and his grasp of what it takes operationally in today's evolving game to excel at the highest level in player acquisition, development, and execution at the major league level."
Prior to his days as an executive, Breslow enjoyed a 13-year career as a major league relief pitcher that ended in 2017. He went through two stints with the Red Sox – 2006 to 2007 and 2012 to 2015 – and he spent the rest of his playing days with the Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres and Miami Marlins.
Breslow had a 3.80 ERA in 202 appearances with the Red Sox, in addition to his 2.45 ERA during the team's run to the 2013 World Series.
"I couldn't be more excited to return to the Boston Red Sox, and organization that means to much to my family and to me," Breslow said in a statement. "I am humbled by the opportunity to lead baseball operations and to work alongside so many talented people. I'd like to thank John Henry, Tom Werner, Mike Gordon, and Sam Kennedy for entrusting me with executing the vision we share for this organization. I know firsthand how special winning in Boston is, and I look forward to once again experiencing that passion and success with our fans."
For his career, Breslow went 23-30 with a 3.45 ERA, 1.335 WHIP, 7.0 strikeouts per nine innings and a 6.2 WAR.
The left-hander also pitched for Team Israel in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and he graduated from Yale in 2002.
Breslow is replacing Chaim Bloom, who Boston fired back in September. The Red Sox missed the playoffs in three of Bloom's four years at the helm, but he did manage to turn a previously depleted farm system into one of the best in baseball.
Now, it will be Breslow's responsibility to oversee that farm system, as well as a major league club that has fizzled out down the stretch in each of the past two seasons. Manager Alex Cora held onto his position despite the overall struggles, and Red Sox ownership is surely hoping that he will mesh better with Breslow's ideology compared to Bloom's.
Cora and Breslow were teammates on the 2006 Red Sox.
Breslow will be introduced at a press conference at Fenway Park on Nov. 2.
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