Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow believes the team can still become a playoff contender despite a slow start this season. He draws parallels to last year's turnaround after a similar beginning.
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Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow
Craig Breslow Makes Bold Declaration About Red Sox's Playoff Chances originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox haven't looked like a playoff-caliber team this year, but that doesn't mean they aren't one.
The Red Sox didn't look like a postseason contender last year until June, when they called up Roman Anthony and finally hit their stride. After another slow start this season, Craig Breslow believes a similar turnaround is coming for Boston.
During his appearance on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" on Thursday, Breslow said he still believes the last-place Red Sox are a playoff team after firing Alex Cora and much of their coaching staff in late April.
"I do. I believed it in the offseason. I believed it coming into spring training. I believe it right now," Breslow said. "I will be the first to acknowledge that we have not played up to our potential. We've got a lot of season in front of us to do that and to get back on the right track."
Craig Breslow expressed confidence that the Red Sox can still become a playoff contender despite their current performance.
Last season, the Red Sox struggled early on and only began to look like contenders after calling up Roman Anthony in June.
Breslow believes that a similar turnaround as last year is possible, suggesting that key player developments could spark improvement.
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Breslow has expressed faith and confidence in Boston's roster throughout its rough start. Fortunately, the American League is extremely weak this year with only four teams over .500 entering play on Friday, so the Red Sox are still very much in the mix despite being 16-22. They're just one hot streak away from vaulting into playoff contention.
FanGraphs' playoff odds are more pessimistic, giving Boston just a 29.4 percent chance of reaching the postseason -- down from over 60 percent before Opening Day.
The Red Sox have played better lately, going 6-5 under interim manager Chad Tracy despite missing Anthony, Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray for most of that stretch. They'll need to keep it up if they want to make Breslow's prediction come true.