On Thursday, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow joined The Greg Hill Show for his regular “Front Office Report” appearance on WEEI.
And with his baseball team in the midst of a five-game losing streak while sitting at four games under .500 (27-31), there were questions that needed to be answered around what the organization was going to do about calling for reinforcements from Triple-A Worcester.
…and not just any reinforcements.
We’re talking about the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball in Roman Anthony, who seemingly lights up Red Sox Twitter on a nightly basis with home run highlights featuring batted balls traveling over 115 miles per hour. He’s batting .318 with a .450 on base percentage, a .979 OPS and slugging percentage of .528.
The 6-foot-3 21-year-old is ready, and both fans and media alike cannot figure out why the big league club won’t give him a shot at jolting Boston back to life.
With his running mate Marcelo Mayer getting the call up to Fenway on Memorial Day Weekend, it felt like a matter of time before Anthony would be joining him. But almost a week later, he remains on the roster at Polar Park.
So what gives?
Photo credit Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos/Getty Images
Here’s everything Breslow had to say on Thursday morning about Anthony, explaining the organization’s rationale behind keeping their top prospect in Worcester for the time being:
Chris Curtis: “Craig, I’ve heard a lot from you, from Alex, from some players about a sense of urgency, but I haven’t seen one. And I think I speak for a lot of people in not understanding why we are sitting here on May 29 after five straight losses, and Roman Anthony is crushing the ball in Worcester. What’s the timeline on his potential call up, and why have you been hesitant to do that?”
Craig Breslow: “I think it’s, it’s a fair question, especially when you look at Roman’s performance in the upper levels of the minor leagues, and notably in Triple-A to start this season. And Roman can be a really, really good player, which we think he is, and still have some development opportunities that he’s working through. Whether that’s getting comfortable in left field – he missed a little bit of time with an injury to his throwing shoulder – working on some things at the plate, despite the fact that the stat lines are going to scream otherwise.
“But I think we also need to be mindful of the environment that Roman would be coming into, and the pressure that we could potentially be putting on a 21-year-old, in the midst of a losing streak, to come up and save the team. So Roman’s time is coming, I don’t think there’s any question about that. And we’ve got to figure out what is best for the organization, what is best for him.”
Curtis: “Kristian Campbell wasn’t in a good position. He’s playing second base. He had an awful throw yesterday that cost you the game. But he’s here because you need him. He’s good. He has talent that the team lacks. I’m just speaking for myself – if Roman Anthony comes up and goes 2 for 20, I don’t think people are going to be saying, ‘He sucks, get rid of him.’
“I think at some point, you have to weigh the impact positively that he would bring to the club against whatever negative component to his ability to understand ups and downs and whatever his place on the roster would be that I don’t think people would be sitting here saying, ‘Roman Anthony’s why we suck.’”
Breslow: “I think that’s fair. I think that’s true. But at the same time, my job and the job of the organization is to try to put him into a situation where that, the 2 for 20 isn’t the outcome. And like I said, he’s getting close, and every time there’s a development opportunity in front of him, he kind of checks that box. And we want to make sure when he comes up, not only is he ready, but there’s runway for him to play. You know, you don’t want to bring up a 21-year-old and have him play sporadically. He needs to be in the lineup every day, and trying to kind of put all of those pieces together is what we think about every single day.”
Photo credit Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images
Jermaine Wiggins: “When your team’s not doing well, is it really a good time to get the young guys out there and give them that opportunity? So if they do make mistakes, and if they do struggle, they’re doing it on a team that’s really not going anywhere, and maybe makes it a little bit easier versus struggling on a really good team, and maybe you blow in something that could affect your playoff position?”
Breslow: “I think it could be. I think the other side of that argument would be when we’re pitching well and playing good defense and the offense is clicking, there’s room to kind of absorb some slumps or underperformance in stretches by others, versus the expectation that any individual’s gonna be able to turn the season around.”
Courtney Cox: “How do you have that take while also balancing Kristian Campbell expecting to be at first base this weekend? Are you worried about what that could do to him?”
Breslow: “We’re always thinking through what the implications may be of those types of moves. And losing Triston [Casas] for the season was a huge blow, and we’ve got to figure out a way to put the pieces together and give ourselves the best chance of winning. And we feel like Kristian is someone who’s going to be able to handle that. But we also have tried to play this transition out over enough time for him to get some confidence over there, and we’ll try to ease him into that role. And we’re going to have to evaluate it on the fly. Trying to do this in-season is not ideal, but this is the hand that we have.”
Curtis: “Is the reason that Roman Anthony isn’t here – I know you noted that the situation, he needs to check up all these boxes. But if he comes up and struggles and has some sort of a mental issue with the move to the big leagues, that falls on your lap. Whereas if he takes his time and waits a little bit longer, then there’s less risk of you feeling heat for rushing him up here.
“Because I watch this team – I can’t imagine that Alex Cora is sitting back saying, ‘Take your time, Roman.’ This team is almost on life support when it comes to division. It just – it defies logic to most people observing this team that Roman Anthony is not there in Atlanta this weekend.”
Breslow: “I think the most direct way to answer that question is the perception or responsibility or accountability that I would feel if Roman struggles is not a factor in making this decision. This isn’t about trying to protect me in any way. This is about trying to balance multiple interests, do right by our team and do right by Roman.”
Photo credit Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images
Curtis: “Does the team want him? Have you heard from people in the organization, whether it’s the manager or players, that, ‘You know, we could really use the help?’”
Breslow: “I think everyone’s aware of what he’s doing in Triple-A. But at the same time, I think if anyone on the team is looking at players outside of the team, then that focus is misguided, right? I think we want the players on the team, we want the staff to be thinking about how we maximize the 26 guys that are currently on the roster, and it’s my job to think about the composition of that roster.”
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