With rumors continuing to swirl about the Boston Red Sox trading away one of their four starting outfielders this offseason, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is attempting to convince people that Boston actually doesn't need to do that (for leverage reasons, of course). However, Breslow's recent comments on the matter don't have any real evidence or logic behind them.
Speaking at the annual GM meetings in Las Vegas, Breslow suggested that while plenty of teams are expressing interest in Boston's three available outfielders (with Roman Anthony being untouchable), the Red Sox don't ultimately need to make a move.
“I think the place to start there is that there is absolutely a way to accommodate all of those talented outfielders, and I think we showed that last year,” Breslow said, per MassLive's Christopher Smith.
Craig Breslow can't possibly believe his own claim that the Red Sox can keep four starting outfielders heading into 2026
Craig Breslow on the Red Sox outfield surplus:
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) November 13, 2025
“Going back to the trade deadline teams have expressed interest in some of our players… I don’t think that’s surprising. And other teams recognize where we are. So we’ll stay open-minded with those conversations, but again we’re… pic.twitter.com/2QWDjedFsP
Breslow was being strategically disingenuous with his comments about Boston's outfield quartet. Contrary to Breslow's statements in Vegas, the Red Sox in no way proved that they can balance playing time for four starting outfielders over the course of a full season. That's because only two of the four outfielders in question (Ceddanne Rafeala and Jarren Duran) were healthy for all of 2025. Rafaela appeared in 156 games for Boston while Duran posted 157.
Anthony didn't debut until June, and he missed the last month of the season, finishing with just 71 games played. Additionally, Wilyer Abreu missed 47 games due to various injuries. Last season wasn't an example of a clubhouse miraculously balancing egos and harmoniously orchestrating playing time between four star outfielders. Far from it.
Approaching 2026 with all four guys now healthy, the logjam problem persists for Breslow and Red Sox manager Alex Cora, whether they are admitting so publicly or not. Each of the four outfielders deserve to be an everyday MLB player, but that simply can't happen if they are all on the same team.
But wait, there's more. Breslow came out this week and announced — much to the shock of Red Sox fans — that Kristian Campbell is trending towards becoming a permanent outfielder at the big league level.
The logjam is only thickening. There's also Masataka Yoshida and Jhostynxon Garcia to consider, and possibly Rob Refsnyder (free agency pending).
A trade feels beyond necessary, unless Cora wants to handle the friction that comes with taking away playing time from an All-Star or Gold Glover in their twenties, which would be the case in 2026 with any of Duran, Rafaela, or Abreu playing in a four-outfielder system. Diminishing Anthony's at-bats in any way wouldn't help the Red Sox, either.