Craig Breslow gives honest answer about what Red Sox's wild-card loss to Yankees really means

While there is plenty to celebrate about the season that was for the Boston Red Sox, it will be the wild-card round sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees that will leave a bitter aftertaste all winter.

During the club's end-of-season press conference on Monday, Craig Breslow, Boston's chief baseball officer, was asked how close he felt the Red Sox were to competing for and winning a World Series title. Breslow didn't hold back on his thoughts.

"We have some work to do," Breslow said. "You know, I think we went to New York, and, kind of frankly, we were beaten in every aspect."

While Breslow's words may be a hard pill to swallow for Red Sox fans, it's also the truth. Boston posted a .117 batting average and .409 OPS in the two wild-card losses to the Yankees where the Red Sox combined to score just two runs. Boston batters combined to strike out in 19 of their 60 at-bats while walking just three times.

Red Sox use competitive 2026 moments as yardstick

While the Red Sox floundered in those two games at Yankee Stadium, Breslow was certainly not ready to concede the American League East in 2027.

"At the same time, there were four-game series where we swept the Yankees and where we swept the (Tampa Bay) Rays," Breslow said. "We didn't lose a game to the White Sox this season, and so, so much of how you feel about your ability to stack up to a team is colored by the last game that you played against them.

"The last two against New York, they didn't go well for us. But I think if you were to ask the 26 guys in the clubhouse if they feel like they can compete with the best teams in our league, they would say yes. We didn't do that when we needed to."

While going 87-75 during the regular season, the Red Sox finished 6-7 against both the Yankees and Tampa Bay while also losing the season series to the Toronto Blue Jays by a 9-4 margin. Meanwhile, Boston fared well against the Baltimore Orioles, winning that season series 9-4.

Put all of that together and Boston was 25-27 within the division this season. There's little doubt that the AL East will once again be a tough division in 2027, meaning Boston will likely have to improve within the division if they are going to boost their postseason stock and earn a home game in October.

The Red Sox have plenty to build on from 2026. However, if they want to take that next step, they can't simply point to the games where they beat good teams. They have to do it more consistently.

Breslow's blunt assessment on Monday may be the clearest starting point for Boston's offseason and what has to improve before 2027 begins.