The Rafael Devers press conference
SEATTLE – It won’t be easy moving past the Rafael Devers conversations.
Nobody knows that better than Craig Breslow.
“I did,” the Red Sox chief baseball officer told WEEI.com when asked if he watched Devers’ press conference in San Francisco.
“I wasn’t,” he responded to the follow-up if there was any surprise that Devers had shown a sudden willingness to play first base. Breslow then added when asked why he thought the new Giant changed his tune, “That’s probably not a question I’m as capable of answering as Raffy is. At this point Raffy is there, we’re here and we have a game to win.”
The Red Sox didn’t win Tuesday night, dropping an 8-0 decision to the Mariners at T-Mobile Park in which Alex Cora’s club came away with just two hits. The energy and enthusiasm that had propelled the team to a series-opening win had done an about-face, at least for a day.
The six-game win streak was over. But the Devers drama still lingered. The goal Wednesday for both Breslow and his team? Take another step away from the new Giants first baseman and pivot toward what has become an unusually gigantic focus – the July 31 MLB trade deadline.
It’s a checkpoint mentioned numerous times by Red Sox players when dissecting the ins and outs of the Devers deal, and suddenly represents a very real reality check for Breslow.
The organization’s chief decision-maker knows this: If the Red Sox can get into a position to become buyers heading into the deadline than that will mean this Devers debate will have been buried.
“This isn’t like the team has to prove to us they are investing in. We want to invest in this team,” Breslow said. “We want to make that the absolute right decision. And if we continue to play good baseball it is going to become really clear. What we have to do as a front office is to figure out where the right places are to bolster the team, and that changes. As the starting pitching group comes together, gets healthier with more depth, maybe starting pitching becomes a little less of a priority than the bullpen. We then have to figure out how (newly-acquired) Jordan (Hicks) and Kyle (Harrison) fit in the mix and how Tanner (Houck) fits. We want to be in a position where we’re adding to this team for a playoff run. We have to figure out over the next six weeks the best way to do this.”
Typically, mid-June has front offices downplaying the Deadline, saying too many teams are in the postseason conversation to pick a buying or selling lane. But for the Red Sox, there is an understanding it represents something out-of-the-ordinary this time.
It’s why the players, and Breslow, had no problem looking forward to the late-July anticipation. They understand that one month from now either the team is going to be diving head-first into talk of how all this newfound money and roster flexibility is setting scene for meaningful roster additions, or … more Devers fallout.
“We’re on the same page,” said Breslow regarding the players’ focus on using the Deadline as the fork-in-the-road.
“There are a lot of ways teams can react to something this, and I understand all of them. What you hope is that they understand that they are going to look around 25 others who have the goal of winning as many as we can as we approach the deadline. We want to align behind ways to improve the team.”
The challenge for Breslow and Cora will be to keep this group looking forward and not back, which is why the chief baseball officer made it a point to fly across the country. Unlike when former CBO Chaim Bloom tried to put out the frustration fire following the 2022 trade deadline by addressing the entire team, Breslow chose to hold individual get-togethers.
It was the first step in trying to put the out-of-nowhere drama in the rearview mirror.
“It’s a lot harder to ask a question or push back or be skeptical or challenge if it’s not a one-on-one conversation with somebody,” Breslow said. “I think it’s really important that they hear from me that we believe in this team and our direction is to go full-steam ahead to winning the division and making a deep playoff run.
“Some guys had some questions. I think it’s totally normal and fair. This is kind of a jarring decision. I think a lot of the questions are like, ‘What does this mean? What does this signal?’ I tried to answer them as honestly as I could.”
One of the questions – at least from some trying to make sense of the Red Sox’ payoff for dealing Devers – is how the newly-found financial flexibility might pay off when the Deadline rolls around.
The answer – like the Red Sox’ current situation – isn’t cut-and-dried.
“I don’t know if there is a great way to answer that only because every trade deadline I was here, even going back to last year, this ownership group has pledged to support,” Breslow noted. “If we’re in this at the Deadline and the right move is to add to the team, the resources have not been a problem. That’s a statement that has been true for as long as John (Henry) and his group have owned the team. I don’t know exactly how that factors in. I know having more resources and more flexibility is only a good thing because more options should allow us to make better decisions.”
The path to those decisions started in Seattle.
It was Day 1 and Day 2. Forty-three to go.
“Obviously, I had been in touch with Alex and kind of getting the temperature of the clubhouse through him and also couldn’t think of a better person to manage the clubhouse in a situation like this than him,” Breslow said. “The relationships and the reason he has been effective is because his ability to always have his finger on the pulse of the clubhouse. But, sure, there is also certainty. I think it is really important I’m here.
It’s a front row seat for what figures to be maybe the wildest ride any team will be taking heading to the final day of July. For that, Breslow can thank the trade that has put the executive and his team in the brightest big league spotlight.
“Obviously this move, it provides some difference flexibility and we’ll have to figure out who the pieces come together and our needs may change over the next six weeks as a result of how these pieces do come together,” Breslow said. “I think I will stand behind the statement that we believe in this team and the hope that we will continue to play the type of baseball we have over the last week and a half. So we’re going to we’re figure out the best way we can enhance the team.”
