Last week, Breslow mentioned that the Red Sox would likely need to trade away a left-handed hitting outfielder or middle infielder this offseason due to a roster crunch, but it appears that any player could be traded for the right return. While that likely doesn’t include players like Rafael Devers or Brayan Bello, who signed long-term contracts this season, but other big names like Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, or Masataka Yoshida might be available if the Red Sox can get help for their rotation or bullpen, which Breslow admitted was a major priority this offseason.

Breslow himself has a long track record of developing pitching, both as a former major league pitcher himself and while working in the Cubs organization. The Red Sox also hired well-regarded pitching coach Andrew Bailey away from the Giants and brought in former Twins’ minor league pitching coordinator Justin Willard to oversee their organization’s pitching development. All of these signs point pretty clearly to the Red Sox now being near the forefront of analytics and motion capture data in pitching development.

Breslow officially takes over at the helm of Boston’s front office after spending the last few years as the Cubs’ assistant general manager. The 43-year-old, who hails from Connecticut, spent 12 years pitching in the majors before joining Chicago’s front office after retiring following the 2018 season.

Breslow, 43, became a front-runner for the Red Sox’ job last week — and after other candidates removed their names for consideration over the past few days it seemed as though the writing was on the wall. Breslow is expected to have the opportunity to hire his own general manager. He’ll be inheriting a team where manager Alex Cora is only under contract through the 2024 season, so his first order of business could be working on an extension to give his manager some job security.