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.”
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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.
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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.
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Featured image via Kevin Jairaj/Imagn Images
