The Boston Red Sox have traded Rafael Devers, but the problems and dysfunction may not be finished in the organization.
A new story by Joon Lee of Yahoo Sports shed light on the many issues that led to the Red Sox trading Devers to the San Francisco Giants in a shocking move on Sunday. In it, Lee notes that there are ongoing issues between manager Alex Cora and the front office, particularly chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.
Cora and Breslow “have not seen eye-to-eye” on the team’s direction, according to Lee. Cora wants to win now, while Breslow is more focused on trying to position the organization for long-term success. Cora’s recent willingness to bench top prospects like Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony for platoon matchups is seen as an indication of his own mindset being at odds with Breslow’s.
Red Sox coaches also feel that player development at the lower levels of the organization is not what it should be, and that players are not being taught proper fundamentals in the minor leagues. The Red Sox lead the league with 64 errors as of Monday.
Breslow has even alienated some within his own front office. Former scouting supervisor Carl Moesche was fired after the 2024 season after referring to Breslow as a “f—ing stiff” on a Zoom meeting that he thought had ended.
There were some signals that Cora and Breslow were not on the same page even earlier this season. Cora publicly stated that there had been no discussions about asking Devers to play first base following Triston Casas’ season-ending injury. Days later, it emerged that the Red Sox front office had asked Devers to do just that, a request Devers balked at.
Cora has won a World Series as Red Sox manager and is clearly valued highly by ownership. One has to wonder if he and the team’s current front office ethos can coexist long-term.
