Red Sox CBO Craig Breslow Scrutinized For Missteps In Rafael Devers Drama

The Boston Red Sox have a true mess on their hands with an angry Rafael Devers.

Already, the Red Sox changed Devers' role on the team once this year. They moved him from third base to first to accommodate Alex Bregman, and now, they've asked him to move once again to take over first base in the wake of Triston Casas' season-ending injury.

It was chief baseball officer Craig Breslow who asked Devers to move positions, which was revealed on Thursday, only two days after manager Alex Cora said he wasn't considering asking Devers to do so. Clearly, there is discord between the powers-that-be in Boston these days.

Breslow took the brunt of Devers' criticism on Thursday afternoon, and that wasn't the only scrutiny he's faced in the time since. On Friday, Sean McAdam of MassLive spelled out his issues with the way Breslow has handled the entire situation, dating all the way back to the beginning of the offseason.

"Breslow did the logical thing here in asking Devers to try first base. Having Devers at first base would solve a number of issues, not the least of which involved potentially opening a spot for Masataka Yoshida at DH, or, perhaps, Roman Anthony — at least in the short term," McAdam wrote.

"Still, Breslow is guilty of not doing a better job communicating with Devers last offseason, when he essentially told him not to pay attention to talk that the Sox were in the market for an upgrade at third."

It's true that roster construction wasn't Breslow's issue here. Were the Red Sox really supposed to find a better big-league first baseman than Romy González to back up Casas when there would have been almost no at-bats available for that backup, barring injury?

It's not as though Pete Alonso would have signed with the Red Sox with the knowledge that he'd be at least a part-time designated hitter, after all. Especially knowing that even for Bregman, they were only willing to do a three-year deal.

But handling delicate communications is a crucial job of a front office executive, and even if one thinks Devers is being overly stubborn here, there's no doubt that Breslow's actions have served to anger his star more than was necessary.