Latest news with #CraigBreslow
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Sox not ruling out optioning Tanner Houck to Worcester, no decision made yet
CHICAGO — Tanner Houck's maximum 30-day rehab assignment has expired and he's not here with the team in Chicago. The Red Sox will soon need to make a roster decision. Houck's rehab assignment began June 18. The final day was Thursday. Once a player reaches the end of a rehab assignment, his team has two additional days to reinstate him to the roster. So Boston doesn't need to make a decision Friday. 'As of now, we haven't made a decision,' manager Alex Cora said before the Red Sox' game against the Cubs on Friday at Wrigley Field. Houck, an All-Star last year, posted an 8.04 ERA (43 ⅔ innings, 39 earned runs) in nine starts for Boston before landing on the injured list May 14 with a right flexor pronator strain. The 29-year-old has minor league options remaining. Asked if optioning Houck to Triple-A Worcester is on the table, Cora replied, 'Yes.' Houck's last 60 outings in the majors have all been starts. He hasn't made a relief appearance since Aug. 2, 2022. But the Red Sox aren't ruling out him returning as a reliever. 'Bres (chief baseball officer Craig Breslow) is not here. So they'll make a decision and we'll inform you guys,' Cora said. Houck allowed 10 runs in 15 ⅔ innings (5.74 ERA) on 18 hits and six walks while striking out 15 over five rehab outings (four starts). Four of those five outings came with Worcester. One outing was with Double-A Portland. He did pitch better in his final two rehab outings, allowing just one run, six hits and two walks while striking out 10 in 9 ⅓ innings. More Red Sox coverage Red Sox reactions: Baserunning blunder, early hole ends 10-game win streak Red Sox' Alex Cora outlines plan for when Alex Bregman will play on road trip Red Sox' Alex Cora was at Coldplay show for viral incident during 'good' break Red Sox lineup: Alex Bregman, Roman Anthony batting back-to-back; Masataka Yoshida sits Red Sox veteran looked like trade candidate; could he now sign extension before free agency? Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Some Things I Think I Think: Upcoming trade deadline has Craig Breslow on hot seat
*Craig Breslow, it can now be said with some certainty, had himself a terrific offseason. The Red Sox' chief baseball officer hit on Garrett Crochet, Alex Bregman, Aroldis Chapman, Carlos Narvaez and Justin Wilson. Only Walker Buehler sits in the demerit column. Now, it's up to Breslow to replicate his success at the July 31 trade deadline. A year ago, Breslow took a more cautious approach and it backfired. James Paxton looked to be a good acquisition at the time, but then hurt his knee in his third start and was lost for the season. The rest of his deadline pickups – relievers Lucas Sims and Luis Garcia and catcher Danny Jansen — were all non-factors and the team faded badly in August. That's what happens when the competition gets better and you don't. Maybe the 2024 Red Sox were beyond repair — a mediocre team that no amount of deadline magic could transform into a playoff contender. But that's not the case this year. The foundation is stronger. The young talent continues to blossom. The rotation is deeper. This should be a team that plays into October. There are challenges that come with upgrades at the deadline, when the entire industry conducts its annual frenetic game of musical chairs. The competition is more intense and the urgency is greater, compared to the relatively languid pace of the winter. For the next dozen days, Breslow will be on the clock. It's hyperbolic to suggest that his job security depends on what he's able to accomplish; he clearly has the organization — both the parent club and the minor league system — heading in the right direction. But there are obvious needs — at first base, in the rotation, and in the bullpen — for these Red Sox to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2021. If Breslow makes the right moves to get them there, those actions, in concert with the moves he made last offseason — will serve as further confirmation that the organization made the right move when it entrusted him with the job some 20 months ago. *Kudos to MLB for a well-run All-Star Game. The Hank Aaron tribute, in particular, was nicely executed and the return of individual team uniforms was most welcome. And though there was some handwringing over the 'Swing-Off'' to decide the game in extra innings, that was fine, too. It's an exhibition game. But let's make sure that MLB doesn't get any ideas about using such a gimmicky idea to determine actual games of consequence. *The pettiness displayed by Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick apparently knows no ends. Don't these two realize that each time they take their passive aggressive shots at one another, they damage their own legacies and reputations? *Those early extension contracts given out to Brayan Bello and Ceddanne Rafaela look better by the day. *This past week proved, once again, that the Philly Phanatic has no peer when it comes to team mascots. *Conditioning (and depth) will play bigger roles than ever next season in the NHL. Thanks to a three-week break to allow the league to take part in the Olympics, the schedule is highly condensed in other months and full of the dreaded back-to-backs. The Bruins will have 13 of them — starting with the first two games of the season. *Take some time to re-watch Jaws before Labor Day weekend It remains the quintessential summer blockbuster and this year is its 50th anniversary. *Baseball is desperately trying to make its annual amateur draft an Event, and I'm not sure it will ever succeed. Despite the notion that moving the draft to the site of the All-Star Game would result in better exposure, it seems to have had the opposite effect, becoming lost among all the other hoopla. Meanwhile, unlike in other sports, players aren't on hand for the event, in part because they don't want to give away negotiating leverage. In baseball, high school players have the option of attending college and college players do, on rare occasions, opt to eturn for their senior year. *It's said that the triple is the most exciting play in baseball. But a throw from the deepest part of the ballpark to nail a baserunner, like the one uncorked by Ronald Acuna Jr. Friday night, comes pretty darn close. *Just a hunch, but I think last week's All-Star Game may have been the last one we'll see for a while without Roman Anthony's participation. *There remains no more inept organization in all of sports than the NFL Players Association. The strip club visits were relatively benign; helping the league conceal that it was found guilty of collusion when it came to player salaries is inexcusable. *Don't forget to fill out your Tommy Pham bracket at work. Pham has been traded at the deadline in each of the last three seasons — and four of the past seven — and is sure to be on the move again before the month is complete. *It's hilarious to watch Power 5 schools scramble to limit NIL payments. Because as we all know, the only people who should be enriched by successful programs are university presidents and their highly-paid coaches. *Credit Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey for his work in helping relievers improve their strike-throwing. Aroldis Chapman is the most obvious example of this, but Bailey has also overseen a big turnaround with Jorge Alcala, who has cut his walk rate from 13.2 percent with the Twins to 8.2 percent since joining the Red Sox. *Is it absolutely necessary for LeBron James to be involved in some sort of will-he-won't-he drama seemingly every blasted time his contract is up? More Red Sox coverage Giants exec preaches patience amid Rafael Devers slump Red Sox at 53-47 for 3rd straight year reminds Alex Cora of ex-A's slugger Red Sox make lineup change, give Masataka Yoshida first start in OF since 2023 Red Sox lineup: Ceddanne Rafaela at 2B, in new spot in order for first time in career Bryce Harper gave Red Sox star rookie Roman Anthony an 'Oh, wow!' moment Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Boston Red Sox prospect has ‘massive body,' getting ‘ton of swing and miss'
Pitching prospect Payton Tolle has reached Double A just 11 outings (10 starts) into his professional career. The Red Sox informed the 22-year-old lefty, who Baseball America ranks No. 84 among its Top 100 prospects, that he was being promoted to Portland right after his dominant start Sunday. He was up to 97.7 mph with his fastball and recorded 21 swings and misses for High-A Greenville against Greensboro. He allowed one run, five hits and one walk while striking out nine in 6 innings. Boston drafted Tolle in the second round (50th overall) in 2024 out of TCU where he threw his heater 90-96 mph and mostly sat in the 91-93 mph range. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and the Red Sox saw that the 6-foot-7, 270-pounder's fastball was already difficult to hit in the low-90s because of its ride and the extension in his delivery. 'You look at it like, 'OK, what does this guy do really well? What makes him unique?' And it's this elite extension, fastball profile gets a ton of swing and miss on it,' Breslow said. 'And you say, 'OK, he's pitching 90-94. What happens if this takes a step forward?' Then you get a chance to get something really elite.' His fastball has been elite and it has led to a ton of punch-outs. He averaged 14.3 strikeouts per nine innings at Greenville. He struck out 38.3% of the batters he faced. He had a combined 55 swings and misses in his final three starts for the Drive. 'Credit to him for all the work because he's been up to 98 and we see that he's a guy who could survive on probably 75% fastballs,' Breslow said. How did Tolle — who also throws a sweeper, changeup, curveball and slider — increase his velo? He began using weight balls, a common practice among pitchers in the Red Sox system under Breslow's regime. He also has cleaned up his mechanics to make him more on time. He thinks his work in the weight room and knowing his body might be the two biggest factors. 'You start with the frame — like massive body," Breslow said. 'Great kid who works really hard, has totally bought into the development opportunities that we put in front of him. He's gotten bigger and stronger, believe it or not.' Early also has increased velo Tolle joins another dominant lefty, Connelly Early, in the Portland rotation. Early, a 23-year-old who Boston drafted out of Virginia in the fifth round in 2023, also has increased his velocity. And like Tolle, he already had an ability to get a lot of swing and miss before his velocity increased. 'He's been up to 96 and change,' Breslow said. 'So yeah, the stuff has definitely ticked up but great pitchability. The ability to throw multiple pitches in the zone — fastball/changeup combination and breaking ball. We started seeing it last year and he's just picked up.' Early is 5-1 with a 2.17 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 11 outings (eight starts). He's averaging 13.4 strikeouts per nine innings. He has struck out 35.4% of the batters he has faced. Opponents have batted .207 against him. Tibbs off to strong start James Tibbs III, who the Red Sox acquired in the Rafael Devers trade, went 2-for-3 with an RBI and walk in Portland's 5-3 win over Binghamton. He's 7-for-22 (.318) with a .407 on-base percentage, one triple, one double, three RBIs, three runs, three walks and six strikeouts in six games with Portland. Holobetz lowers ERA to 3.14 John Holobetz, who the Red Sox acquired from the Brewers in the Quinn Priester trade in April, allowed one run, three hits and no walks while striking out five in High-A Greenville's 2-1 loss to Rome. The 22-year-old righty, who the Brewers picked in the fifth round last year, is 3-2 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in eight outings (seven starts) for Greenville. More On Red Sox Prospects Red Sox prospect earns weekly minor league honor for second time this season Red Sox 'Big 3′ join trio of elite Boston company Boston Red Sox prospect 'The Password' goes deep twice in WooSox' win Red Sox hard-throwing prospect, two others combine for Portland no-hitter Red Sox prospect Blaze Jordan batting .348 since promotion to Worcester Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Sox CBO pulls back curtain on trade deadline plans
The MLB trade deadline is fast approaching and the Red Sox have a chance to be buyers, improve their team and make a postseason run. Boston could use pitching help — both in the starting rotation and the bullpen — and could benefit from a first baseman. Prior to Sunday's 6-1 win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow opened up about the July 31 deadline during an appearance on SiriusXM's MLB Network Radio. 'We went into this season taking a very aggressive posture,' he said. 'The moves that we made this winter were those that I think signaled that it's time to compete and that the product we had been putting on the field — the team that we'd been running out there at Fenway — just wasn't good enough for our fans. 'And so, we're approaching the deadline looking for ways to bolster the team given the play over the last month-and-a-half or so,' Breslow continued. Prior to the All-Star break, the Red Sox found themselves on a 10-game losing streak. They lost their first two games out of the break before avoiding the sweep on Sunday. Breslow noted that the Red Sox' needs are 'a little bit fluid,' but wants to make the right moves for the team as they try to get back into the postseason for the first time since 2021. And even though Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro have filled in fine in the absence of Triston Casas, Breslow isn't ruling out bringing in someone else to play the position. 'We'll be open-minded about the opportunities to bring in a bat that can play first base,' Breslow said. Earlier this month, Breslow told MassLive's Chris Cotillo Boston's play before the All-Star break gave the team reason to believe it can continue in the second half. 'We want to improve the team. We want to find ways to bolster the group,' Breslow said. 'The play on the field exemplifies that. We've obviously put ourselves in a pretty good spot here with the way that we've been playing over the last few weeks and have reason to believe that we can continue that.' After Sunday's win, the Red Sox are two games behind the second-place New York Yankees in the American League East, and five games behind the Toronto Blue Jays. More Red Sox coverage How Red Sox star Alex Bregman's 'training day' ended in big pinch-hit homer Red Sox lose out on veteran free agent reliever Craig Breslow scouted over weekend (report) Failed bunt led to Boston Red Sox' first lead after 24 innings; 'Big moment' Red Sox pitcher 'with nearly unhittable fastball' cracks MLB's Top 100 prospects MLB insider identifies Red Sox biggest needs ahead of trade deadline Read the original article on MassLive.
New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Jed Hoyer made hard trades in Cubs rebuild, praises ‘conviction' of Craig Breslow's Devers trade
CHICAGO — Jed Hoyer knows what it's like to make unpopular, franchise-altering trades. At the 2021 trade deadline, fans lambasted the Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations for breaking up a beloved group of World Series-winning players. Hoyer viewed the trades at the time as painful but necessary moves. Advertisement In that vein, he applauded Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow with unusual candor for Breslow's 'conviction' in pulling off one of baseball's most shocking trades this season. Last month, Breslow traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks and prospects James Tibbs and Jose Bello. 'He's been bold with the (Garrett) Crochet deal, and obviously with the Devers deal, I loved the conviction he showed on that deal,' Hoyer said Sunday as the Red Sox avoided a sweep by the Cubs with a 6-1 win. In Chicago at the 2021 deadline, Hoyer made major moves in an attempt to turn around the Cubs franchise, but it involved some uncomfortable realities. Hoyer understood when he took over for Theo Epstein after the 2020 season that he'd have to bear the burden of change in Chicago. He knew it would be wildly unpopular trading Anthony Rizzo to the New York Yankees, Javier Báez to the New York Mets and Kris Bryant to the Giants in the span of two days, all with an eye toward the future. The biggest return among those trades was getting then-prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong from the Mets. Crow-Armstrong is vying for NL MVP as the Cubs surge, nearly 20 games over .500 and in first place in the National League Central. During that time of tumultuous change in Chicago, Breslow served as an assistant general manager under Hoyer and was at the center of those moves as part of a small, trusted inner circle for Hoyer. Hoyer described Breslow's role in helping retool the Cubs organization, drawing some parallels to what Breslow is doing in Boston. 'He was a big part of the decision to trade away our core World Series guys,' Hoyer said of Breslow. 'I think he saw the reaction fan-base-wise — there was real frustration and anger — but ultimately, we as a group made the decision that it was time. It was time to reset and bring in new talent and put the organization in a different direction. He saw that as the right thing to do at the time.' It's been roughly 21 months since Breslow worked for the Cubs, but in so many ways, his five seasons in Chicago were formative years for him as a front-office executive. More than most, Hoyer can relate to the hard decisions Breslow has felt necessary to make in Boston. Hoyer has gone from Breslow's mentor in Chicago to a rival executive in different leagues, but he has watched from afar as Breslow has been aggressive in changing the front-office structure, retooling the roster with major trades and revamping the organization's pitching infrastructure to bring the Red Sox back into contention. Advertisement With the second half underway, the Red Sox are fighting for a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2021. Breslow has some major decisions to make as his second trade deadline as chief baseball officer of the Red Sox approaches next week, but he has already proved a willingness to be bold. Not every trade works out; that's a reality of the business. Many across baseball criticized Breslow for the Devers deal. Hoyer saw the move as an opportunity that even experienced executives might have shied away from. 'He felt like he was doing the absolute right thing for the franchise, and those are hard decisions,' Hoyer said of the deal. 'When you're doing something you know in the short term could frustrate some people but you totally believe is in the best interest of the organization, those are hard decisions. When I see other executives make decisions like that, I have so much respect because I know what goes into it from a personal standpoint.' Hoyer, a New Hampshire native who went to Wesleyan University in Connecticut and spent seven seasons in the Red Sox front office from 2002 to 2009, working under Epstein and serving as co-general manager in 2005 alongside Ben Cherington, has about as good an understanding of the Boston market as there is. But he also understands well how Breslow operates. When Breslow's circuitous 17-year pitching career ended in 2018 with the Toronto Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate, Epstein, the Cubs president of baseball operations at the time, recruited Breslow to an entry-level front-office role auditing the Cubs' pitching infrastructure. As a player, Breslow was widely known as one of the smartest and most analytically minded athletes, one who first played for Epstein's Red Sox in 2006. He quickly rose through the Cubs front office, becoming an assistant general manager in 2021. After Epstein left, the team promoted Hoyer to the top role, and Breslow was a key part of Chicago's decision-making until he was hired by Boston in November 2023. Epstein, now a part-owner in Fenway Sports Group, has served as a mentor for Breslow over the last two years. Advertisement As Hoyer worked alongside Breslow in Chicago, he could tell it wouldn't be long before Breslow acquired enough experience to run his own team. 'I always had a sense we were renting him because it was obvious he was going to get this opportunity really quickly, just given the number of people on this planet who have his skill set and pitched in the big leagues for 12 years,' Hoyer said. In his first season in Boston, Breslow hired an outside auditing firm to evaluate the front office and get a better feel for how the organization operated. It was a contentious time for many longtime employees but a process he felt necessary to streamline baseball operations. 'Year 1 is such an evaluative period,' Hoyer said. 'I talked to Craig so many times about that last year, where you've got to get in there and learn what's going on and sort of take it all in and figure it all out. You want to make change quickly, but you also realize that it takes time. And the last thing you want to do is make bad decisions because you were hasty. I think as you get into Year 2 and beyond, it starts to become your organization.' The trade deadline last year didn't go as Breslow hoped, adding three pitchers — James Paxton, Lucas Sims and Luis García — who were all quickly injured as the big-league club faded down the stretch. Breslow lamented not being as aggressive as he should have been in his first year fully in charge of a club. He learned from that deadline with an aggressive move over the winter, trading the team's two most recent first-round draft picks in addition to two other prospects for Crochet on the final day of the Winter Meetings. Six months later, he pulled off the Devers bombshell, acknowledging mistakes in communication with Devers along the way. Breslow has been far from perfect. He's in only his second season leading a baseball team. Though Breslow was criticized by many for the trade, one former colleague has been impressed with what he has done so far. 'I learned a lot from him. Hopefully, he learned a lot from us,' Hoyer said. 'I think he's done a fantastic job. And I think he's going to be doing this job at a high level for a long time. He's made really hard decisions.' (Top photo of Jed Hoyer: Kamil Krzaczynski / Imagn Images)
