Boston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow expressed frustration over the team's 7-11 start, acknowledging inconsistencies in play while focusing on long-term improvements.
Key points
Craig Breslow is the Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox.
The Red Sox have a 7-11 record, placing them last in the American League East.
Breslow expressed frustration over the team's inconsistencies.
He emphasized focusing on long-term improvements rather than immediate results.
Mentioned in this story
Boston Red SoxCraig Breslow
Boston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow Discusses Slow Start
After an offseason that had many national pundits pegging the Boston Red Sox as one of the favorites to come out of the American League, Boston has come out of the gate limping to an 7-11 start that has them in last place in the American League East. Amid the slow start, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow made his bi-weekly appearance on WEEI's The Greg Hill Show. Here's everything you need to know:
Frustration over the start
While Breslow acknowledged some amount of frustration with the 7-11 start to the season, he remained focused on the longer-term outlook, focusing rather on why the inconsistencies exist, rather than the results of the games, saying, "Sure, there's frustration in terms of the inconsistency to the play, and there's frustration in terms of the results...We try to balance frustration because we want to win games. We know that we can't go back and reverse the outcomes, but also recognize that we're 18 games into this."
Breslow is right, the Red Sox do still have 89% of the regular season to play, though there are plenty of concerning metrics to start the season. The team ranks in the bottom five in baseball in both home runs and slugging percentage. For an offense that was constructed based on putting the ball in play, that alone is not cause for alarm. However, they also haven't done a great job of that, striking out 23.4% of the time, the 11th highest strikeout rate in baseball.
After years of having one of the worst infield defenses in baseball, Breslow constructed the 2026 lineup to improve upon that, especially with the additions of Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray, yet, through the first 18 games of the season, the Red Sox have committed the fourth most errors in baseball (14). The anchor of the infield defense, shortstop , has committed four. Despite the emphasis on improving the defense, it appears to be the same old story for the Red Sox.
Q&A
What did Craig Breslow say about the Red Sox's slow start?
Craig Breslow acknowledged frustration with the team's 7-11 start but emphasized the need to focus on long-term improvements rather than just the immediate results.
How does the Red Sox's current record compare to expectations?
The Red Sox were expected to be one of the favorites in the American League but currently sit in last place in the American League East with a 7-11 record.
What are the main concerns for the Red Sox this season?
The main concerns for the Red Sox include inconsistencies in play and the overall disappointing results early in the season.
When did Craig Breslow discuss the team's performance?
Craig Breslow discussed the team's performance during his bi-weekly appearance on WEEI's The Greg Hill Show.
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Along with an offense based on putting the ball in play, the backbone of the Red Sox roster was their pitching staff, with a three-headed monster of Garrett Crochet, Gray, and Suarez. Through 18 games, the Red Sox rotation ranks 26th in baseball with an ERA of 5.01. Breslow appeared unconcerned about the rotation's struggles, chalking up the start to natural variance involved in the game of baseball: "We're now three-plus turns through the rotation, and every starter has given us a really good performance, and every starter has gone out there and performed in a way that was not indicative of what we believe they're capable of doing. I think some of this is just the natural variance of baseball... I think our starting pitchers and the pitching group are constantly assessing the performance, but also thinking about the adjustments that are necessary to make in-game so that, in poor starts, we can make the pivot and still give ourselves the chance to win," Breslow said.
Leadership in the clubhouse
For the second week in a row, Breslow was asked about the leadership within the clubhouse, once again pushing back on the narrative that there was a leadership void on the team. "I think going into any season, it's really difficult to know where leadership is going to come from," Breslow said, looking back to his time on the 2013 World Series Champion Red Sox, where veterans like backup catcher David Ross became vocal leaders on the team. "I think there's an opportunity for guys to step up," he continued, once again pointing to Willson Contreras, Story, and Crochet as potential leaders.
Boston Red Six chief baseball officer Craig Breslow speaks to the media during the MLB General Manager's Meetings at Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Boston Red Six chief baseball officer Craig Breslow speaks to the media during the MLB General Manager's Meetings at Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Breslow, of course, was asked about Jarren Duran's latest viral fan interaction in Minnesota, where he was seen making an obscene gesture to a fan who had allegedly made comments about his struggles with mental health, telling the show that the team is behind Duran 100% in his mental health journey, "It was a really terrible and unfortunate situation, Jarren said that he should not have reacted the way that he did, but also there's no place in our game for comments like the one that was directed at him. So we give Jarren our full support," Breslow said.
When asked about Duran's response, Breslow acknowledged that the organization wasn't exactly thrilled with it: "The response is not representative of how we wish that would have played out," he said, conceding that it would be tough to tell how anyone would respond in a similar situation.
Ownership's investment level
Finally, Hill asked about the Associated Press' report about MLB cash spending, which has the Red Sox with the 12th-highest payroll in baseball on Opening Day. Breslow diplomatically towed the company line, saying, "There are a bunch of different account measures for payroll, I am not going to talk about any of them."
The Red Sox will look to right the ship starting on Friday night when they'll host the Detroit Tigers to kick off a seven-game homestand. First pitch from Fenway Park at 7:15 p.m. ET.
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