00:00It is the chief baseball officer of the Boston Red Sox, Craig Breslow, who joins us right now.
00:06And it says here on my screen, are you working from home currently, Craig?
00:12No, I am not.
00:14I'm working from Fenway Park.
00:16All right.
00:16But I'm guessing that you might, I probably shouldn't guess, you might side with technology on this.
00:24I'm not sure exactly what the question is.
00:26I think asking me if I side with technology could be dangerous.
00:32Well, I'll tell you what I did want to ask you about.
00:35To borrow an NBA term, it seems like we are seeing some load management going on.
00:43Is that kind of what strategy-wise, what you guys are doing right now?
00:50I guess the answer would be maybe in that where we are is wanting to make sure that guys who
00:58have either some lingering injuries, discomfort, soreness, or are approaching workloads that maybe they haven't before,
01:07we're trying to be as smart as possible about making sure that we're completely healthy, recovered, fresh for a stretch
01:13run.
01:13I don't think, though, that we're in a position to just take healthy guys and try to manipulate how much
01:22work they're taking on.
01:24If we think about Sonny and having him skip a start and then slot back into rotation this weekend, this
01:32was not a reaction to something that's happened recently.
01:35Obviously, this is more an accumulation of the work that he's had over the last month and a half or
01:41so and him wanting to stay on regular rest the last, I think, four or five turns through and then
01:47just saying, hey, I benefit from a few days.
01:49So we call that load management.
01:51We call that being smart.
01:52I'll leave that up to you guys.
01:54When it comes to Sonny, there's not a concern about a pain thing or an injury thing.
01:59It's really – it's just the rest, right?
02:03Yes, exactly.
02:04So, you know, he knew that we were trying to find times to give Jake and Peyton an extra day
02:11where we could when Ranger was coming off the IL and still working his overall volume up.
02:17And he said, hey, I can go, you know, on a regular five-day.
02:21My body feels really good.
02:22There will be some point where I'll probably come to you and say, hey, give me a couple extra days
02:25just to get back in sync.
02:27And we knew that that was likely to happen.
02:29And then kind of another example would be Wilson, who was very clearly playing through some hamstring soreness.
02:37And we were at this place where he could go two or three days in a row, but then might
02:40need a day.
02:41Or if he really needed to push it, not feeling totally confident like it was there.
02:45And after we got through the Yankee series saying, hey, this is probably the right time to get on the
02:50other side of it.
02:51So we're trying to manage all those things.
02:53Craig, when you look at guys like Garrett Crochet and Curtis Mead, there's been, you know, reports of them working
02:59their way back.
03:01Where are you when it comes to being able to utilize those guys in the postseason?
03:06Is that something?
03:07I know it's hard to put a number, but are you feeling like maybe 60, 70 percent there's a chance
03:11we'll be able to utilize those guys or even a higher number than that?
03:16It's so hard to put a percentage on it or a probability on it.
03:20I think instead we're trying to use we're trying to map out some benchmarks that would that would be evidence
03:28of like meaningful progress for Garrett.
03:30Obviously, the first one was throwing and then we'll be getting off the mound and then facing hitters with Curtis.
03:36It was we needed to get the cast off and then need to get strength and range of motion back.
03:39And then you're going to need to swing, you know, so I know each of those guys is doing everything
03:45that he can to get back, you know, and they're making progress every day.
03:50But to say exactly where they'll be four weeks from now, I think just just might be kind of foolish
03:56at this moment.
03:57I feel like our relationship has grown in in the right direction.
04:01But if you if you ever again send Mickey Gasper anywhere else other than Fenway Park, you and I are
04:10going to have a real problem.
04:11Right.
04:12He has been just incredible to the point that when he gets up there and he hits a single, you
04:18somehow feel like he's let you down.
04:19Right.
04:21It's just it's incredible.
04:22You know, it's just really fun to to watch and so happy for this guy who, you know, has been
04:31through a lot.
04:31He's bounced around.
04:32He's finally getting some run to play every day.
04:35And we're seeing just an incredible, incredible potential.
04:39He can really, really hit.
04:40I think that's become very clear.
04:42Craig, when it comes to Adley Rushman being out with the right elbow, this is something that now the team
04:48has said that they might have to manage for the remainder of the season.
04:51And when you could take into consideration that he was your main acquisition at the trade deadline and and what
04:57you've had to deal with since then, how serious is it?
04:59And what would you what would you rate that trade now?
05:04Sure.
05:05I don't think with a trade like this where Adley is, you know, is still here next season when, you
05:15know, some of the players that we gave up have very, very long tails of control.
05:18I don't think it can be graded a month after the trade.
05:22You know, we we knew what we were getting with Adley.
05:27You know, we obviously were able to go through the medical and got comfortable with it.
05:31This is, you know, a situation where he took a swing and felt like he hyperextended the right elbow.
05:36And there's some residual irritation and bruising that we can manage in that he can play.
05:44And we're just trying to kind of straddle the line of, you know, when is it best to give him
05:50some rest and maybe maybe be able to get out to the on the other side of this versus having
05:55him in the lineup is going to help us.
05:57So I don't think managing this is necessarily like the scary term or scary idea that it could sound.
06:04I think it's more saying he can play with this, but there might be some time where he needs a
06:08day or he doesn't bounce back quite as well.
06:11And conversely, there might be a situation where we're, you know, maybe over the last few days, we've been able
06:15to give him enough rest to where it's it's gotten to the point that he can go out there and
06:19he can play every day.
06:21But I think we know what we're dealing with and it doesn't appear as though there's anything really scary going
06:26on here.
06:26So if this were the playoffs tomorrow, he could play, he'd be in the lineup.
06:31Yes.
06:33Was there a concern? I know you said you got comfortable with the medicals. We went over them yesterday in
06:38detail.
06:38The elbow has been an issue dating back. There was a couple issues a couple of years ago with the
06:42right elbow.
06:43He was injured when he arrived. You have no concern about his ability to be a healthy player for your
06:48team going forward?
06:50Correct. He was on the I.O. when we got him with a wrist injury. That is not what's happening
06:58here.
06:58This is a flare up as a result of a swing where his right arm kind of got into that
07:05end range and the result was some irritation and some bruising.
07:11But this is a different injury than what he was on the I.O. with when he got here.
07:15And like I said, yes, if this were a playoff game and we are very likely to see him in
07:21the lineup today, but feel confident in his ability to help us down the stretch here.
07:25Any any concern that you overpaid for him?
07:29No, I think, again, like we'll be able to evaluate the trade in its totality probably five or six years
07:37from now.
07:39But this was the catching spot was an area where we felt like we needed to upgrade.
07:46The team had put us in a position to where being aggressive and trying to add at the deadline made
07:52a lot of sense.
07:53And so we went out and we did it.
07:55Roman Anthony with a home run last night, yesterday afternoon, but whatever we there was some question about when the
08:04decision, how you made the decision when it came to he and Trevor's story on playing in the Yankee series.
08:12What what went into that for you guys?
08:15Sure.
08:15Just the combination of making sure that each of those guys and we can lump them together because they they
08:22both were activated at the same time.
08:24But we approached them individually because they were dealing with different injuries, play different positions, et cetera.
08:31But wanted to make sure that we were meeting the two criteria, both being completely healthy so that they weren't
08:37worrying about those those injuries when they were coming back and to play with confidence.
08:41And then from a baseball standpoint, feeling like they were ready to come out and perform, just given the success
08:49that the team had had over the last couple of months and wanting to make sure that those guys were
08:52ready to contribute.
08:53Really, that levels that we've seen in the past.
08:55Craig, when you look at Trevor's story and both Roman Anthony, I know the biggest thing when when guys return
09:00from injuries is how they feel after they've played a few games physically.
09:06How have these guys have been feeling physically after, you know, getting some games underneath their belt?
09:13Sure.
09:13They they both have said that they feel good.
09:16And and the demands on each has been a little bit different with Roman de-aging, playing playing right one
09:22of the games to give the chance to get Willie off his feet.
09:25But I think Roman in a position to where he can be in the lineup every single day.
09:32Trevor, probably a little bit different just because I think the demands on his body at playing the middle of
09:36the of the field are a little bit different.
09:38So we're likely going to find our spots to give him days.
09:42And it becomes a lot easier to do that when you know that you've got quite a bit of depth
09:47that had stepped in and will continue to step in and make those days pretty seamless.
09:52You bring up giving them days.
09:53I was just going to ask, is is it sustainable for how good they're feeling with coming off these injuries?
10:00Um, you know, I'd like to think so, just because we were, you know, we were in communication with each
10:07of the players, the medical staff, we their rehab, you know, was pretty deliberate in terms of the buildup.
10:13But I don't know that there's any way to recreate a major league environment, you know, including the travel, the
10:22pressure, just the speed of the game.
10:24So we'll make sure that we talk to those guys.
10:27And like I said, it is likely that we'll give them a day to make sure that they stay sharp.
10:31And that's a lot easier to do when you've got pieces on the bench that, you know, can step right
10:36in.
10:37Craig, we've talked a lot about it.
10:38And I think, you know, our own Rob Bradford, who had a big day at Fenway, called Sunday prior to
10:43the game, the biggest August game in the history of the Red Sox.
10:46And then in the fifth inning of that game, you had Sedan Raffaella appear to catch a ball that was
10:52called not a catch, was reviewed, and it was upheld as not a catch.
10:55What do you think happened?
10:56Do you think Sedan Raffaella caught that ball in the fifth inning?
11:00So I do.
11:02And a lot of that comes from talking to Sedan and feeling quite confident that if there's somebody in baseball
11:09who can tell you whether or not they caught a ball, it's Sedan Raffaella.
11:13And I think based on everything that we've seen, he probably earned the benefit of the doubt.
11:19I also understand why once the play went to review and there was that split-second blind spot of not
11:25being able to see where the ball was behind the glove, that maybe the call couldn't be overturned.
11:32But my strong suspicion is that if it were ruled a catch on the field, it would have stood.
11:37And that's a really frustrating thing there.
11:40Craig, last one for me.
11:41When you start to look at a team like the Yankees that you face so many times throughout the regular
11:47season, and then you potentially could see them in the postseason, it's about confidence and familiarity.
11:53Do you feel like if you, as a team, had to go into New York, do you feel confident in
11:58this baseball team that you guys could win that series?
12:03I do.
12:03And that's not to say that we shouldn't understand the situation and recognize the caliber of team that New York
12:14is.
12:15I also think you talked about familiarity, and I do think that that's really important, that we've seen their lineup
12:20a number of times.
12:20We've seen the arms that they're going to throw at us a number of times.
12:23Sometimes it's always tough to go into Yankee Stadium and win a series, but we're confident in the group that
12:31we have.
12:32And I think the more times that we see them, the better our chances become.
12:35But there's a lot of baseball to play between now and then, and we've got to make sure that we're
12:38focused on the series that we have in Baltimore starting tonight.
12:42All right.
12:42Craig Breslow, thanks for taking the time.
12:44We will talk to you again in a couple weeks.
12:49Sounds great.
12:50All right.
12:50That is Craig Breslow.
12:51I say.
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