How Red Sox boss defended blockbuster deadline trade after blowback

Craig Breslow had two groups of people in mind when thinking about the trade deadline: The Red Sox and their fans. 

In what would’ve been unfathomable a month ago, the Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer was a big-time buyer at the trade deadline as the team looks to build on a remarkable 28-5 run. 

“Over the last month and a half or so, this team has demonstrated an incredible resilience and relentlessness and put itself kind of firmly in the playoff picture,” Breslow told reporters. “And they deserved – and our fans deserve – our effort, and the efforts from the front office to try and find ways to make it better.

“We didn’t want to go through a deadline where we kind of just rearranged the chairs, but didn’t actually get better and introduce the possibility of messing with the culture and the environment. We were aggressive in bringing players in, and we were positioning ourselves to reach our objective, which is to try and win a World Series.”

Craig Breslow smiles while being introduced as the Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer during a press availability at Fenway Park on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, in Boston. AP

Boston made multiple trades Monday, but none were more significant than trading for former Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman, especially since their arch-rival Yankees were reportedly interested in him. 

The aggressive move came with a steep – three top-five prospects – that left some in baseball scratching their head. But Rutschman is a three-time All-Star and provides value both offensively and defensively. 

Though the Orioles have stumbled the last two seasons, Rutschman helped return them to relevance after a lengthy late 2010s-early 2020s rebuild. Baltimore made the playoffs twice with Rutschman behind the plate. 

The trade fills a crucial need for the Red Sox, as their catching duo of Connor Wong and Carlos Narvaez had a combined .615 OPS. 

Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman follows through on a two-run double against the Chicago Cubs in the seventh inning of a baseball game on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in Baltimore, Md. (AP Photo/Gail Burton) AP Photo/Gail Burton

Breslow also improved the Red Sox bullpen by trading for Giants reliever Erik Miller, who has a 2.76 ERA this season and after a 1.50 mark last season. 

The Red Sox parted ways with former top prospect Marcelo Mayer in the Miller deal, though Breslow still thinks highly of the 2021 fourth-overall pick. 

Once 32-46, the Red Sox are 60-51 entering Tuesday and swept the Dodgers over the weekend.