Red Sox fans should be panicking because of Craig Breslow, according to ESPN originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The 2026 season has not been a good one for the Boston Red Sox. They are 12-18, sitting at the bottom of the AL East. And that's after winning three straight against AL-East teams before a Tuesday loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
But, more importantly, the Red Sox just fired their manager, Alex Cora. The players clearly weren't the biggest fans of the decision, with Trevor Story being the most notable player to come out against this decision.
Between the poor record, struggling new additions, and the now-fired Cora, Craig Breslow has made some less-than-popular decisions recently. And overall, according to ESPN's Buster Olney, Red Sox fans should be panicking thanks in large part to Breslow.
"Panic-meter score: 5. Under normal circumstances, I would've placed the panic meter at 3, given the small sample size of games," Olney writes. "But Craig Breslow, Boston's head of baseball operations, must have it at a 5 because he just fired someone considered one of the best managers in baseball after 27 games in March and April."
Not everything is the fault of Breslow this season, as Roman Anthony has struggled to live up to the hype, Garrett Crochet hasn't been great, and he's now on the injured list, and plenty of other players are struggling this season.
Even if it's not Breslow's fault entirely, the Red Sox are still in this position thanks in large part to the decisions that Breslow has made in the last year.
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From the Rafael Devers trade, losing Alex Bregman, the offseason acquisition of Caleb Durbin, and the firing of Cora, there are a lot of reasons to blame Breslow.
Olney would've only had the Red Sox at a 3-out-of-5 on the panic meter, but with what Breslow's done to this team recently, he has the Red Sox a perfect 5-out-of-5 on the panic meter.
Fans should be very concerned about the state of the team this season and going forward, and that's thanks in large part to Breslow winning the power struggle with Cora.
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"The offense has been poor, powerless, with the team ranked in the bottom 10 of just about every major offensive category," Olney writes. "... But will this group generate significantly more homers? Doubtful, unless they change the composition of the roster. Breslow's bet is on pitching."
Olney wrote that before Crochet landed on the injured list. So, not only are the Red Sox down their manager, and the offense looks lifeless, but the pitching staff that was so highly touted coming into the year just lost its ace that Breslow would rely on.
While it's still only been one month of play during the 2026 season, it might be time for Red Sox fans to panic. Things are only getting worse, and Breslow is running out of buttons to push to try to fix the mess this season.
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