What's next for the Boston Red Sox?

Breslow has also been criticized for the way he talks about the sport. Despite a successful, 12-year MLB career, the 45-year-old Yale grad speaks less like a ballplayer and more like a consulting firm’s latest AI bot.

But Breslow’s calculating, emotionless, numbers-driven approach to his job has, at least for the time being, earned him the support of ownership. He still has a gig; Cora does not. That alone shows who has more juice.

Still, Breslow’s leash won’t last forever. A season without October baseball would put him on the hot seat, if he isn’t already. The Red Sox have churned through baseball ops execs at a frightening rate lately, with four different individuals holding the top job since the start of 2015. Surely owner John Henry and team president Sam Kennedy would prefer stability, but they’ve also shown themselves quite willing to change course.

Will Chad Tracy be the full-time manager?

If he maintains his current pace (a 1.000 winning percentage), Tracy will be Red Sox manager for life. But assuming he eventually loses a ballgame or two, the 40-year-old will have to prove himself capable of handling one of the sport’s more strenuous and scrutinized jobs.

Asked Saturday whether the interim tag means Tracy will serve as skipper for the remainder of the season, Breslow was comically noncommittal.

“We believe that Chad is the right guy to handle this transition, and we're going to put all of our effort into supporting him to do that,” he said.

That leaves the door open for another change if the team doesn’t right the ship and another compelling candidate emerges in-season. If the Sox play well under Tracy, the job is probably his for this year and beyond. If they don’t, Boston could definitely open up a full managerial search in the offseason, if not before. The specifics of that scenario also depend on whether Breslow keeps his job, as a new executive would almost certainly want to hire their own skipper.

Will owner John Henry sell the team?

Don’t count on it.

Despite the chants for Henry to step down echoing outside Fenway Park, owning a ballclub happens to be a very lucrative business. And the Sox are only part of Henry’s portfolio as the head of Fenway Sports Group, a consortium that also owns Liverpool F.C. and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Henry has, over recent years, adopted a more secretive and behind-the-scenes presence. Kennedy tends to handle the public-facing duties that a typical owner would take on.

But don’t get it twisted: Boston’s problems start with Henry. While he has spent money on the big-league roster, it hasn’t always been up to the fan base’s standards. More importantly, Henry's conduct has made it seem like he thinks of the club as a piggy bank, not an institution. His reluctance to face the music is a real problem.

On the field, what’s going well, and what are the problems?

The starting pitching looks legitimately good. Garrett Crochet had a couple of early stinkers but bounced back with a nice outing Saturday in Baltimore. He remains one of the best hurlers in the sport. Free-agent addition Ranger Suarez struck out 10 and allowed just one hit across eight innings on Monday. Young lefties Connelly Early and Payton Tolle have both impressed in a small sample, solidifying themselves as rotation stalwarts. Boston faces a tricky situation whenever Sonny Gray gets off the IL, as Brayan Bello’s struggles make him the obvious odd man out.

The offense, or lack thereof, was a driving force behind Cora’s ouster. Jarren Duran, in particular, has been a disaster. He’s swinging more often at breaking balls and less often at fastballs. Generally speaking, that’s a bad approach; like most hitters, Duran’s career numbers against heaters (.288 average, .476 slug) are superior to his numbers against sliders, sweepers and curves (.226 average, .391 slug). A complete bounce-back to the outfielder’s stellar 2024 feels less and less likely as time goes on, meaning Boston likely missed the chance to trade this guy for anything of value.

Duran is the team’s biggest red flag moving forward, with Story a close second, considering how much the veteran shortstop is chasing pitches outside the zone. His defense also remains unsatisfactory. Story is a flawed player, but one who has enough of a track record and enough standing in the room that he’ll get runway to figure things out.

Marcelo Mayer, at least the current version of him, looks more like a capable bottom-of-the-order type than a dynamic offensive force. That very well could change as the 23-year-old adds strength and acclimates to big-league ball, but right now, he can’t be relied on as a needle-moving hitter. Roman Anthony is a different story. He’s had underwhelming surface-level stats, but the underlying stuff says he’ll be back to normal soon. Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras have both been bright spots amidst the dreary gray.

Altogether, it’s a good, not great offense, a very good pitching staff and a questionable defensive alignment. Is that a playoff team? Maybe.

For Breslow’s sake, it better be.