Red Sox reportedly consulted with team legends during CBO search

Red Sox

David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Pedro Martinez, Kevin Youkilis, and Brock Holt were all asked about who should be the next chief of baseball operations.

The Red Sox asked Dustin Pedroia (furthest right), among other former Red Sox players, about who should fill Boston’s CBO opening ultimately won by Craig Breslow (center). Michael Dwyer/AP Photo

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The Boston Red Sox have named their next leader of all baseball operations, but they didn’t do so without considering the opinions of some of the team’s former leaders on the diamond.

According to WEEI’s Rob Bradford, the Red Sox consulted David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, Brock Holt, Dustin Pedroia, and Kevin Youkilis during the search for their new top baseball executive. The favorite amongst them was reportedly Craig Breslow, who ended up winning the job.

Most of these players first knew Breslow from his days as a Red Sox reliever. Each of the consulted players were teammates of Breslow except for Martinez, and Breslow won the 2013 World Series while playing alongside Ortiz and Pedroia.

After Breslow retired from pitching, he became the director of strategic initiatives for the Chicago Cubs under former Red Sox executive vice president Theo Epstein. Since then, Breslow was promoted to director of pitching and later assistant general manager before interviewing with Boston about their chief baseball officer opening.

Breslow was one of three reported finalists for the job, joining Minnesota Twins general manager Thad Levine and Cleveland Guardians consultant Neal Huntington. He started to separate himself from the rest of the finalists after he impressed Red Sox principal owner John Henry during his second interview. He earned the job on Oct. 24.

The Red Sox will hold an introductory press conference for Breslow on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. With any luck, fans will grow just as fond of Breslow as his teammates who recommended him are.

Originally posted 2023-10-31 16:37:51.