It was a bold trade deadline for Boston Red Sox CBO Craig Breslow. After one of the most successful month-long stretches in franchise history, he went all in at the deadline with several moves. The most notable of those was a blockbuster deal for catcher Adley Rutschman.
That deal came with some pushback over the price. In particular, that he overpaid and wasn’t building sustainably over a long period of time anymore. Breslow pushed back on this, though, arguing that this is a sustainably built roster.
“That [roster mix] sounds pretty [expletive] sustainable to me,” Breslow said. “It’s one thing to make a trade like this and say, ‘It’s this year or bust.’ It’s another to say, ‘[Catcher] is a need we had. If we didn’t solve that need right now, we’re going to have that need in the offseason or we’re going to have that need at the next trade deadline.’ This is an opportunity for us to improve the team while also having this position player core, starting rotation, and bullpen that is going to be around for a while.”
At one point this season, it was almost assumed Breslow was going to get fired. Then, the turnaround happened, and Breslow knew he needed to nail the trade deadline for the Red Sox. He went out to do that in a major way, with the attempt to win now.
This also comes at a point when Breslow has been criticized in the past for being too conservative while making trades. That tentativeness has seen deals fall through on him. Clearly, he wanted to avoid that now.
New Boston Red Sox Catcher Adley Rutschman Emotional About Trade
GettyNew Red Sox catcher Adley Rutschman
For Adley Rutschman, it was an incredibly emotional trade. He had been drafted by the Baltimore Orioles, came up through that system, and was close friends with several players there. It’s no surprise that it hit him hard.
Randy Rutschman, Adley’s father, spoke to The Boston Globe about the news. In particular, how hard it hit his son.
“He had to go and cry,” Randy said.
He would go on to emphasize that the emotion was about the friends he was moving on from. However, he is also excited about the opportunity with the Red Sox.
“I played my entire career there and there’s been a lot of unbelievable memories. Just made a lot of great friends for life,” Adley Rutschman recently said. “It’s tough goodbyes. But we’re on to the next thing. And excited to be here and playing. It’s all part of the game.”
Orioles beat writer Jacob Calvin Meyer reported that he was going to see Spider-Man: Brand New Day with Colton Cowser, Ryan Mountcastle, and Gunnar Henderson whe
n he got the call about the trade. Instead of seeing the movie, they had an emotional moment together.
Adley Rutschman is Getting Closer to Returning from Injury
GettyAdley Rutschman with the Baltimore Orioles
One notably strange aspect of the Red Sox trading for Adley Rutschman was that he was on the IL at the time of the move. That’s an injury the Red Sox were aware of, and after looking into it, they decided they were comfortable with.
Rutschman has already gone on his rehab assignment with the Worcester Red Sox. Now, the hope is that he’ll be able to get on the field soon.
The Red Sox begin a road trip on Monday against the Toronto Blue Jays. Rutschman is meeting the team there, and while he’s not expected to play on Monday, it’s a good sign he should be getting on the field soon.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Red Sox CBO Craig Breslow Fiery Thoughts on Roster After Adley Rutschman Trade appeared first on HEAVY.