Out In Las Vegas, Craig Breslow Goes All-In On The Red Sox Offseason And Let's All Hope He's A Man Of His Word

MLB's GM Meetings are taking place this week in Vegas. And there is no team under more pressure to get better for 2026 than Craig Breslow and the Boston Red Sox. 

You have the fact that they got knocked out of the playoffs by the rival Yankees. Then the team watched as another AL East rival, the Blue Jays, won the AL Pennant. Then there's the normal pressure from Red Sox fans, who are rightfully passionate (crazy) and always want the team to get better. 

But on top of that, Breslow keeps adding to the hype for real improvement with his own words. 

In the hours after the season ended at the hands of the Yankees, he said the Red Sox were headed into their "window of contention." Since then, he has made multiple media appearances, talking about improving the team through trades, avoiding a step back after making the playoffs, and making needle-moving pitching moves — all without much prompting. 

In Vegas Monday night, Breslow fittingly went all-in, outlining his plan for the offseason. 

I'm obligated to point out that, you know, the Red Sox had a damn good middle-of-the-order bat in Rafael Devers. They decided to trade him to the Giants for a shit return. Breslow acknowledging that that type of bat is impactful is an essential step in admitting the massive mistake that was the Devers trade. 

Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber would be prominent names at the top of the list to fill that lineup void. 

From there, Breslow once again reiterated the need for top-end starting pitching. 

"Because of the depth that we’ve built up over the last couple of years, we feel pretty good about just overall starting pitching and numbers 3-ish through 10-ish and that’s not to take away from guys are certainly capable of doing more and more just to say I don’t think we’re going to spend a ton of time trying to add a No. 4 or a No. 5 starter. If we’re going to make a starting pitching addition, I think it should be somebody who can pitch at the front of a rotation and start a game for us."

Joe Ryan is the first guy I think of here, and you can slot him right behind Garrett Crochet and feel good. Framber Valdez, sure. Maybe Ranger Suárez or Michael King? I refuse to get too excited about Tarik Skubal. 

Let's not get bogged down in names right now and end up burying the lede - this is once again Breslow volunteering specifics about how he plans to improve the Red Sox this offseason. Not since Dave Dombrowski (I miss him) was with the Red Sox has an executive mapped out a plan quite like this. 

To his credit, Uncle Dave backed it up. Dombrowski told the media he would be looking at a front-end starter and a closer when he took the Red Sox job. He proceeded to sign David Price and trade for Craig Kimbrel. Price, well, didn't work out, but the effort (and the money) was there. 

Will Breslow follow through and back up his bold words? If he doesn't, Red Sox fans should be lined up to rip him for it; I know I will be. 

I mean, they have the money and the prospects to swing for the fences, if Fernando Tatis Jr. is actually on the trade block in San Diego. 

Is there a chance Breslow is actually sending a message to ownership with all his promises of improvement?

How about this quote from MLB Insider Jeff Passan on Tuesday? 

“As long as Red Sox ownership keeps the financial clamps on chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, he'll need to get creative in improving a Red Sox team that's already quite good… as much as the Twins say they want to win in 2026, they understand: Now is the time to strike and dealing Boston another front-line starter to pair alongside Garrett Crochet is the way to do it.” 

"Financial clamps." THERE SHOULD BE NO FINANCIAL CLAMPS. THIS IS THE BIG MARKET BOSTON RED SOX. Yikes. Is Breslow putting pressure on the team by teasing all these moves? Because let me tell you, they will not be cheap. Is Passan preemptively blaming ownership? Again, Big Yikes. 

The Red Sox have plenty of money to spend, so that should be no issue. If it is, fans should be ready to pounce on that, too. 

Big offseason for the Red Sox. More big words from the Chief Baseball Officer, Breslow. There is a lot to cover over the next few months. 

Maybe soon there will be a podcast hosted by a crazed Red Sox fan, where an old guy like me could rant and rave about all this. And we could be joined by another wild Sox fan who is renowned for trolling the Yankees. 

That sounds fun. Until then, let's keep Breslow and the Sox honest here on all these offseason plans.