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LOS ANGELES — Over the last week or so, a distinct shift of philosophy by the Red Sox has been obvious.
Loosely speaking, it’s Goodbye sustainability; Hello “win now.”
It began with the trade — however ill-fated, as it turned out — of Connelly Early for Curtis Mead, and crystallized even further with the events of Monday.
In an atypically aggressive move, the Red Sox strip-mined their minor league system, packaging three of their top five prospects to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for catcher Adley Rutschman.
Not satisfied, they later gave up on Marcelo Mayer, a former first-round pick who couldn’t miss (until he did) and dealt him away for an intriguing — if at times erratic — bullpen arm.
In the span of a few hours leading up to the deadline, the Red Sox shifted gears and attempted to make themselves World Series contenders. Before our very eyes, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow morphed into Dave Dombrowski 2.0.
Damn the prospects, and full speed ahead.
Moves like the ones he pulled off Monday were most assuredly not why Breslow was originally hired. The idea, if you recall, was that Breslow was going to oversee the development of a pitching pipeline, one that could provide the nucleus of staff designed for a long stretch of contention.
Then, in the span of less than 10 days, Breslow dealt off three of the half-dozen best 25-and-under arms he had, all in service of trying to win this October and next.
For a franchise that famously went 86 years without winning a World Series, suddenly, an eight-year championship drought was starting to feel intolerable.
But it’s more than titles. The fact is, the Red Sox have won exactly one postseason series since their last duck boat parade — a 2021 Division Series victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. That’s quite a downgrade for a team that qualified for the postseason seven times in 11 seasons while reaching the ALCS four times and winning three World Series.
Along the way, there have been some unconscionable lows in the organization’s boom-or-bust pattern. They finished last in 2020, and last again in 2021 and 2022, and try as they might, the proclamations that the team was aiming to play “meaningful baseball,” every fall began to ring hollow with an increasingly impatient fan base.
Another factor is how wide open the playoff picture looks in the American League. The same team that saw 14 games under .500 not so long ago is suddenly the hottest team in either league. The Sox have swept three of the best teams in the American League (Rays, Yankees and White Sox) and just pantsed the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road, too. They haven’t lost a series since the first day of July.
There is now, improbably, a path to the World Series that proved too tempting not to take. In a league in which no team looks invincible, the notion of the Red Sox representing the AL in the Series is hardly out of the question.
It’s funny how quickly expectations can change. Only six weeks ago, Breslow closely resembled a lame duck executive and fans debated when his firing would take place. Failing that, some wondered about the wisdom of having him conduct business at the deadline.
Then, without much notice, while his team rose phoenix-like from the ashes, he evolved into some combination of A.J. Preller and Jack McKeon, tossing aside top-rated prospects like a ship captain trying to rid his vessel of excess baggage.
Breslow’s gamble here is considerable.
First, he has to hope that Rutschman, currently sidelined with a left wrist injury, can get healthy in a hurry, and proceed to play like he did his first two seasons in the big leagues.
Then, there’s the matter of what happens after 2027, by which time Rutschman will be eligible for free agency. This will require some astute threading of the needle: he can’t try to sign Rutschman now because his play has been too uneven the last few seasons, making it highly difficult to settle on his actual value. Conversely, if he waits too long for Rutschman to regain his previous form, the catcher could well price himself out of an extension and instead choose free agency.
That’s all still to be determined.
In the meantime, Red Sox fans can rejoice in the fact that the organization is again showing some urgency to win, a quality that’s been in short supply in recent seasons, thanks to reduced spending and a reliance on waiting for The Next Big Thing, be it Triston Casas, Mayer or Roman Anthony.
The struggles of all three, coupled with the failures experienced by Kristian Campbell have apparently serve to remind the Red Sox that prospects are merely potential future stars, with little guaranteed.
Breslow improved the roster with wheeling and dealing, though it’s still far from perfect. They are still short on power in the lineup and lack sufficient starting pitching depth. You can’t have everything.
The Red Sox’ turnaround had already made the season interesting. Breslow’s moves on Monday will make them fascinating to watch, and what were the odds of that happening just six short weeks ago?
More Red Sox coverage
- What Red Sox’ Craig Breslow said about trading Marcelo Mayer, once viewed as ‘part of a core’
- When will Adley Rutschman make his Red Sox debut? Here’s the latest on his injury
- Red Sox trade: Who’s Carlos Gutierrez, ‘under the radar’ prospect acquired for Marcelo Mayer?
- What they’re saying about Red Sox trading Marcelo Mayer
- What they’re saying about Red Sox acquiring Adley Rutschman for big haul
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