Red Sox hire Craig Breslow as chief baseball officer

BOSTON – The Red Sox announced on Wednesday that they have hired Craig Breslow as the chief baseball officer, and he will be responsible for all baseball operations matters.

"We feel strongly that Craig is the right person at the right time to lead our baseball department. Craig’s understanding of the game is remarkable," said Red Sox principal owner John Henry. "What convinced us to bring him aboard in this capacity was his highly strategic philosophy and his grasp of what it takes operationally in today’s evolving game to excel at the highest level in player acquisition, development, and execution at the major league level. We are excited to welcome him back.”

The Red Sox parted ways with chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom on Sept. 14, and then began a methodical search to find his successor.

A rising front-office executive due to the way he revamped the Cubs’ pitching department from the ground up, Breslow pitched for the Red Sox in 2006, and again from 2012-15. In fact, the lefty reliever was a key part of manager John Farrell’s setup crew in ’13 (1.81 ERA in 61 games), when the Red Sox won the World Series.

“Craig was a standout candidate,” said Red Sox president & CEO Sam Kennedy. “The praise from fellow baseball executives was impressive, but what truly distinguished him were the resounding character references from former teammates, including David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, David Ross, Brock Holt, and Kevin Youkilis. Craig knows what it takes to be successful in Boston and he’s up for the challenge.”

Most recently, Breslow was the assistant general manager with the Cubs and the team’s vice president of pitching. Breslow spent his entire post-playing career in the Cubs organization after pitching his final MLB season in 2017.

Breslow pitched across 12 MLB seasons as a lefty reliever for seven teams.

“I couldn’t be more excited to return to the Boston Red Sox, an organization that means so much to my family and to me,” said Breslow. “I am humbled by the opportunity to lead baseball operations and to work alongside so many talented people. I’d like to thank John Henry, Tom Werner, Mike Gordon, and Sam Kennedy for entrusting me with executing the vision we share for this organization. I know firsthand how special winning in Boston is, and I look forward to once again experiencing that passion and success with our fans.”

The 43-year-old has long been viewed as a potential candidate to run a baseball operations department. In addition to his playing and front-office experience, he also graduated from Yale University in 2002 with a degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry.

While the Red Sox chose not to publicize any particulars in their search for their next leader of baseball ops, sources confirmed that several executives interviewed for the post, including Red Sox assistant general manager Eddie Romero, Twins general manager Thad Levine, Guardians special assistant for baseball projects Neal Huntington and recently-dismissed Giants manager Gabe Kapler.

Several candidates also turned down the chance to interview for the position, including Rays senior advisor Jon Daniels, Blue Jays vice president of baseball strategy James Click and former Marlins general manager Kim Ng.

The Red Sox finished in last place in the AL East in three of the past four seasons, and pitching has been the club’s biggest issue, which makes Breslow an ideal fit to help the team reverse its fortunes.

Brent Maguire contributed to this report.