Red Sox rumors: Craig Breslow ‘loyalist’ thinks ‘turncoats are internally plotting’ against GM

Even though the MLB trade deadline is still weeks away, the Boston Red Sox might have already dealt the best player of this deadline season. Arguments can be made that the Red Sox or the San Francisco Giants won the Rafael Devers trade. It’s still a debate that is raging on. Either way, the deal is still universally regarded as a bad look for Boston chief baseball officer and general manager Craig Breslow. Now, according to reports from ESPN insider Jeff Passan, some of Breslow’s front office allies think his role might be threatened by other team employees.

“The Devers trade only heightened the palace intrigue,” wrote Passan. “Front office officials from other teams mostly lauded the deal for Boston, looking at San Francisco’s willingness to take on the remaining $254 million over the next eight-plus seasons as a win for the Red Sox. But models exist to strip the emotion out of decision-making and use decades of history — and dozens of other inputs about players’ skills gleaned from the cameras that track their every move — to objectively analyze. There is no accounting for a fan base’s adoration of a player.”

Devers was the franchise player. Plain and simple. Trading your franchise player, especially in the middle of their prime? Usually not a good look at all. Ever since Devers agreed to a ten-year extension worth over $300 million a couple of offseasons ago, he locked in his place as one of the team’s leaders. Now, as Boston tries to turn their season around, their best player is gone. As Breslow and manager Alex Cora try to get the club back to October, can they do it without Devers?

Can Craig Breslow turn Red Sox after Rafael Devers trade?