Will Red Sox Hire New GM? Craig Breslow Focused On ‘Most Prudent Path’

In his new role as chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow is tasked with running the Boston Red Sox’s baseball operations department.

This raises the question of whether Breslow — a former major league pitcher sitting in the big chair for the first time — will hire a general manager or other front office personnel from outside the organization.

“As is going to kind of be a recurring theme here, I’m trying to get up to speed as quickly as I possibly can,” Breslow said Thursday during his introductory press conference at Fenway Park. “I think the most prudent path right now is to evaluate the landscape. I think, over time, the right profile, the right thought partner will unveil itself. But currently, I’m not feeling a rush to do that. I think there are some other decisions that are more pressing.”

Brian O’Halloran served as Boston’s GM under former chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, whom the Red Sox parted ways with back in September. O’Halloran, who’s been with the team for over two decades, held that job title since October 2019 but was offered a new senior leadership position within the baseball operations department at the time of Bloom’s departure.

Breslow ultimately could name a new GM from within, as there’s no shortage of viable internal candidates. This was evident in Boston’s search for a new CBO. But for now, he’s clearly focused on learning more about his peers, the gig and the Red Sox’s overall vision for returning to World Series contention.

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“There are a lot of great things happening with the Red Sox. There are a lot of great people in this organization in baseball operations who have been here for a really long time and seen a ton of success,” Breslow said of how he views the franchise. “This last week has kind of been an exercise in not just hitting the ground running but trying to hit the ground sprinting and getting up to speed as quickly as possible. My intentions over the next few weeks are to learn as much as I can to be able to answer that question. But the one thing that I am very, very excited to point to is the emergence of this really exciting young core — some of whom is contributing right now at the major league level, some who are reaching the upper levels of the minor leagues and some who candidly are not here just yet.”

Breslow, a native of New Haven, Conn., who resides in Newton, Mass., has a lot on his plate upon returning to Boston, where he won a World Series title with the Red Sox in 2013. It’ll be fascinating to see how the pieces fit into the puzzle he’s trying to construct, both on and off the field.