Craig Breslow believes Red Sox are in ‘improved position’ to get ‘right players’

Boston Red Sox

Breslow also acknowledged that the Red Sox have some “work to do.”

By Conor Roche

October 31, 2025 | 4:58 PM

3 minutes to read

Craig Breslow likes the direction the Red Sox are trending in, but he doesn’t seem willing to settle after the team failed to make it past the Wild Card Round in the playoffs.

In an interview with MassLive’s Sean McAdam, the Red Sox chief baseball officer said that he believes the team is “in an improved position to acquire the right players” after making the playoffs in 2025.

“We’re definitely closer [to our goal] when you think about the season we just had,” Breslow told McAdam. “But we’re also not where we want to go yet and adding the wins that take you from 89 to 90 to 91 to 92 are really hard. On the field, we saw some of our key players take a step forward in terms of development and performance.

“We also have needs that we’ll likely address via external acquisitions. From a [front] office standpoint, we’ve some really difficult but necessary decisions to get [our] operation focused on what matters, which is winning major league baseball games.”

However, Breslow also acknowledged that the right answers to elevate the Red Sox from a playoff team to a World Series contender won’t fall on their lap.

“All that said, this isn’t the time to pat ourselves on the back,” Breslow added in his comments to McAdam. “We have work to do.”

From a record standpoint, the Red Sox are certainly better off now than where they were a year ago. The Red Sox made the postseason for the first time in four years after Breslow made a flurry of big moves last offseason, including landing the likes of Garrett Crochet, Alex Bregman, and Aroldis Chapman.

However, Boston will be entering the offseason from a bit of a deficit from where it ended the 2025 season, at least in terms of roster construction. Bregman will reportedly opt out, creating a possible hole at third base. Lucas Giolito and Trevor Story also have options, which would force the Red Sox to solve holes at the top of their rotation and at shortstop, respectively.

But the Red Sox have some resources to work with in order to improve the roster. They’re roughly $25 million under the first luxury tax threshold after accounting for Bregman’s opt-out, via Red Sox Payroll. That number accounts for Giolito and Story being on the books on their current contracts.

The Red Sox are also armed with what’s considered to be one of the best farm systems in baseball. They have four prospects ranked in MLB Pipeline’s top 100 list, while former top 20 prospects Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, and Kristian Campbell recently graduated as prospects. They also have a logjam of outfielders, with it being commonly speculated that one of their standout outfielders will get traded this offseason.

Putting the resources aside, arguably the biggest reason why the Red Sox might be in a position of strength compared to last year was the emergence of Crochet and Anthony as franchise cornerstones in 2025. For the first time in several offseasons, the Red Sox enter an offseason with a clear, bona fide ace at the top of their rotation. As for Anthony, he proved to be one of the top hitters in baseball shortly after getting called up, giving the Red Sox a hitter they can likely count on at the top of their order for years to come.

Still, as Breslow said, the Red Sox have work to do. Even if the Red Sox re-sign Bregman and Story opts into the remainder of his contract, Boston could use another right-handed hitter with power to help stabilize the lineup. And if Giolito remains in Boston, it still might be wise for the Red Sox to add another pitcher with top-of-the-rotation material so they aren’t pitching a rookie in an elimination game again.