Craig Breslow became chief baseball officer of the Boston Red Sox before the 2024 season, and reporters and fans have long wondered when he'd hire a general manager. He'll finally be ready to make the move in the winter before his third season at the helm.
Many organizations call the top man in charge in the front office — in other words, the person in Breslow's position — a GM. The Red Sox have had a CBO and GM at the same time in the recent past, after Chaim Bloom named Brian O'Halloran to the role in 2019. He was dismissed when Breslow took over in 2023.
Rob Bradford of WEEI reported on September 11 that Breslow will "prioritize" hiring a GM to work alongside him in the front office. The report came alongside news that former Orioles GM Mike Elias was promoted to president over the offseason, which has also thrust Baltimore into the market to find fill his former role.
The Nationals also seek a new GM this offseason after they fired their longtime previous one, Mike Rizzo, this season. Washington got off to a rough start in 2025, and fired Rizzo along with manager Dave Martinez when its record reached 37-53 in early July. One of the Nationals' top candidates for their front office vacancy is Red Sox assistant GM Paul Toboni, according to MLB insider Mark Feinsand.
Craig Breslow to hire Red Sox a GM over 2025-26 offseason as Nationals covet their assistant GM
On this subject, Craig Breslow will prioritize finding a GM early this coming offseason. Has gone without one in his first two seasons. https://t.co/AqZEBwkeRW
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) September 11, 2025
Toboni is one of several assistant GMs in the Red Sox organization. His tenure with the team began in 2015 and he worked his way up from a baseball operations intern to his current role, to which he was promoted in 2023. Breslow will likely also look outside the Red Sox organization for potential suitors to be his second in command, but Toboni has been reported to be a top candidate in the past.
Breslow could use another set of eyes and ears in the front office, and it'll be interesting to see who he hires, given the competition for GMs around MLB this coming offseason. The CBO has minimal experience in a position as demanding as his — he'd never held a similar role in the Cubs' front office — and an experienced GM could help him.
Breslow has made some incredibly successful moves since he assumed the CBO title, like trading and later extending Garrett Crochet, signing Alex Bregman and extending Roman Anthony, but he's hardly the excellent communicator he was billed as after his hiring. He's also made some questionable and downright unforgivable trades in the past two years. An experienced GM should be able to help steer the Red Sox in the right direction and take some weight off Breslow's shoulders.