Craig Breslow's tenure as chief baseball officer of the Boston Red Sox has been polarizing — 2025 featured some offseason blockbuster moves and key contract extensions, but another botched trade deadline and the Rafael Devers trade ended up hurting the Sox in the playoff race.
The 2025-26 offseason will be the biggest test yet for Breslow, as the Red Sox returned to the postseason for the first time since 2021 and look to build up from there. Boston has big market money to take to the free agent market and prospect depth to make some significant trades, and it may have to do both to get the reinforcements it needs to make a deeper playoff run next year.
Breslow has been vague about the Sox's offseason plans in the past. He's previously expressed concern for the future while he sought to improve the current team. There's been a distinct shift in his tune since the 2025 season ended, though, and Red Sox fans will love the latest comments he made in an interview with Sean McAdam of MassLive (subscription required).
“We’re definitely closer (to our goal) when you think about the season we just had, but we’re also not where we want to go yet and adding the wins that take you from 89 to 90 to 91 to 92 are really hard," Breslow said.
"We also have needs that we’ll likely address via external acquisitions. From a (front) office standpoint, we’ve some really difficult but necessary decisions to get out operation focused on what matters, which is winning major league baseball games. We’re in an improved position to acquire the right players and make them better."
Craig Brelsow's latest comments suggest real changes coming for Red Sox roster this offseason
"[Acquiring] the right players" will be key this offseason, as Boston's needs are clear after its early postseason exit. The Red Sox desperately need a dose of power in their lineup, as they ranked 27th in the league in home runs after the All-Star break and they only hit one home run in the Wild Card round. Re-signing Alex Bregman should also be of the highest priority, since the rest of the third base market is underwhelming, at best.
Boston also needs more experienced pitching in its rotation behind Garrett Crochet — a No. 2 starter would be ideal. Brayan Bello took massive steps forward in 2025, but he's never been able to maintain the same level of success for an entire season, as exhaustion sets in in the later months. The free agent market is lacking in the level of talent Boston needs, but it's been named a fit for Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen, Michael King, Robert Suárez, Shane Bieber and more (subscription required). The trade market seems like a better fit for the Sox and their excess of prospect capital, and Joe Ryan, Hunter Greene, Freddy Peralta, and even Tarik Skubal could be on the table as trade candidates.
The change in Breslow's mentality is a great sign for the Red Sox, who are as close as they've been in years to building a contender. Crochet, Bello, Ceddanne Rafaela and Roman Anthony are all under contract with the Sox, but it could take multiple trips to the postseason to win a World Series with this new young core.
The "future" that Breslow and previous chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom took care to protect is now here, and Breslow's latst comments suggest he knows that. Hopefully, John Henry and the rest of the front office is on the same page, because the Red Sox will have to spend some serious money this winter to get where they want to be in 2026.