For all of the bad things that Craig Breslow has done that have caused the Boston Red Sox to take a major step back in 2026, he also deserves some flowers for the things he has done well. One thing, if not the biggest thing, that he has done is rehabilitated the pitching staff.
At the advent of Breslow's tenure as chief baseball officer in Boston, the starting rotation was one of the biggest concerns. In Chaim Bloom's final year, the Sox didn't have a starter with more than nine starts who had an ERA under 4.00. They also didn't have any young, promising prospects in the pipeline.
In less than three years, Breslow completely overhauled the starting rotation. While the name everyone in the fanbase will point to is Garrett Crochet, it goes much deeper than that. Between the MLB Draft, free agent acquisitions, and other trades, the Red Sox have an elite starting rotation even while missing their ace for most of this season.
Even with an extremely underwhelming season, the rotation has become must-see TV for all of Red Sox Nation. As pointed out by Red Sox media personality Jared Carrabis on X, the combination of Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez, Connelly Early, and Payton Tolle has been fantastic this season. Bennett and Tolle didn't start the season in the majors, and Gray came to Boston after a really down year.
Red Sox CBO Craig Breslow knows how to do one thing — build a starting rotation
The Brewers have the best starter ERA in baseball (3.16).
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) June 29, 2026
Sonny Gray, Payton Tolle, Ranger Suarez, Jake Bennett and Connelly Early have a combined ERA of 3.01.
Between June 18 and June 29, the Red Sox went on a 12-game streak of quality starts (at least six innings and allowing three earned runs or fewer), and the starting rotation combined for a 1.75 ERA. In the 12-game stretch, the Red Sox went 8-3.
Even with the streak ending because of Connelly Early being pulled early due to discomfort in his throwing elbow, the rotation is becoming a symbol of hope for Red Sox fans. Performances like they've been giving consistently keep Boston in games. With the weak American League, in small streaks like they just went on pull them back into the playoff picture.
The injury to Early is concerning because of the lack of starting depth the Sox currently have. They've dealt with injuries and poor performances this season, and the next man up mentality has been working. Even if they have to piece together the fifth spot if Early is down for a while, the other four give the Sox a chance to win every night.
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