Cornerstones? Trade Pieces? How Craig Breslow Views Red Sox Prospects

The Red Sox have one of the best farm systems in MLB, but they could face a tough choice between waiting for prospects to be major-league ready and winning in the present.

Roman Antony, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer and Kyle Teel not only are among the best prospects in Boston, but they’re also among the best in the majors. A lot is riding on the “Big Four,” but after a season where the Red Sox missed the postseason for the third straight year, things have to change.

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow joined NESN’s Tom Caron and The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier on the “310 To Left” podcast to discuss what the goals are for Boston’s elite youngsters.

“We have to view them as options,” Breslow told Caron and Speier. What exactly that means will be dictated by a series of moves including their offseason and their growth. There are certain guys I think are talented enough that they kind of dictate their timelines, and my hope is that we have a handful of those guys in the upper levels of our minor leagues. We’ve all come to learn that there is little if any certainty around prospects, but I do think we have a really special group that’s going to impact this organization in the near future but exactly what that looks like will, at least in part, be dictated by other opportunities.”

It was pointed out to Breslow that he saw firsthand players like Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. not get off on the right foot when they began their major-league careers. And it was why a balanced approach could be utilized this offseason.

“Only a handful of guys come in and immediately impact a team, and so we have to be prepared whenever it is that guys come up that it might not be a honeymoon from the time that they debut. And that’s OK. I think we’re going to be in a place where there’s enough talent around the diamond that the expectations aren’t going to fall squarely on the shoulders of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell or Kyle Teel.”

The Red Sox face tough choices with impending free agents and decisions on where to upgrade the roster. And fans will have to wait and see which prospects will make the leap after an exciting year in the minors.