What Alex Cora Told Craig Breslow After Getting Kristian Campbell Deal Done

The recent work of Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow surely hasn’t gone unnoticed by manager Alex Cora.

Breslow inked two key pieces of the roster to long-term contract extensions this week. He first locked in Garrett Crochet on a six-year, $170 million deal before executing a team-friendly eight-year, $60 million extension with rookie Kristian Campbell.

Cora, who signed a three-year contract extension himself last season, was more than happy to tell Breslow he had done a good job securing future building blocks for the franchise.

“I told (Breslow) … ‘Congratulations.’ Because it’s not easy,” Cora told reporters prior to Wednesday’s game, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “But I always said, it takes two to tango. And we’ve been able to secure some guys in this organization now that they are going to be huge for us. … It’s a good business decision.

“I think it’s a good business model, too. And hopefully we can continue that. Secure more players.”

Breslow signing integral Red Sox players to contract extensions isn’t a new method conducted by the front office executive. He did it last season with Ceddanne Rafaela, who played just 28 games before agreeing to a eight-year, $50 million extension. Brayan Bello got a new contract — six years, $55 million — at the start of last season, too, just after two seasons in the majors.

Campbell was a little bit of a different case since he came out of relatively nowhere last season to be a top prospect in the sport. He batted .330 with 20 home runs and 77 RBIs across three levels of Boston’s minor league system in 2024. The 22-year-old had an underwhelming spring training, but still won Boston’s second baseman job and impressed right away by batting .375 with a homer and two RBIs in five games.

These moves really could look shrewd in the long run if these budding talents reach their potential.

Roman Anthony, who is the No. 1 position prospect in all of baseball, and Marcelo Mayer could be next on the docket for Breslow in getting contract extensions done.