Sean McAdam, one of the most experienced reporters on the Red Sox beat, recently wrote that it was “nearly impossible” to imagine Craig Breslow surviving this season as the Red Sox CBO. While that certainly feels true at this juncture, he is only third on this list of front office executives facing the most pressure leading up to this year’s trade deadline. (Buster Olney, ESPN)
What’s so interesting about Breslow’s precarious job security is that he can point to many offseason moves that have unquestionably
been smashing successes. The Willson Contreras trade is foremost among them, as Contreras is on pace to hit 38 homers, obliterating his previous career-high of 24. “I’m not looking to put the pressure on myself to get to 30 [home runs], or to get to some number,” he said. “[T]here’s still a lot of season left, but I feel good at the plate, try to make contact, and if I get to 30, thank God.” (Avery Hill, Boston Globe)
Another move that’s worked out is Wilyer Abreu getting at-bats against left-handed pitching. His success is not a coincidence. “Five or six days per week, November into February, he practiced by initially using little more than a traditional pitching machine. Instead of putting the machine on the mound, he shaded it off to the first base side “to exaggerate the angle” of a real lefthanded pitcher. ‘As close as I can, literally behind my back,’ he said. ‘Try to work the angle.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
But despite the success they’ve had this season, neither Contreras or Abreu is going to start the All-Star Game. In fact, with the first round of voting under way, no Red Sox player is even close. (Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald)
If Craig Breslow does decide to sell at the deadline, who are the Sox’ most likely trading partners? Look to the Padres as a good fit for Jarren Duran and the surprising White Sox as a good fit for Sonny Gray and Aroldis Chapman, says one analyst. (Jim Bowden, The Athletic)
But while Gray, Chapman, and possibly Contreras are already considered to be amongst the biggest potential prizes of the trade deadline, some executives are pushing back on the idea that the Red Sox will get a haul for any of them. “I think a lot of these players have a chance to be difference makers, but here would be my questions if acquiring any of them,” one NL executive said. “You have to treat Sonny and Aroldis as one-year deals, and that’s a big buyout. Would you pay Sonny $20 million for the rest of this year? Aroldis will almost certainly opt out…Duran would be a sell-low [option] at this point; he has struggled to hit even though he has had some power.” (Mark Feinsand, MLB.com)
But don’t talk to Sonny Gray about being traded. He says he’s not remotely paying attention to any of that:
