The Red Sox Kicked Off Spring Training With Craig Breslow Shrugging Off The Team's Terrible Power Projections

Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox. Getty Images.

Here was Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Craig Breslow in the team's season-ending press conference after losing to the New York Yankees in three games back in October. 

"It would be fair to look at some of those other teams [still in the playoffs] and say that they hit the ball out of the ballpark a little more than we do,” Breslow said. “Scoring runs….this is kind of a zero-sum game, right? And it doesn’t really matter how you score. But in the postseason, a lot of runs come via the home run because the pitching is so dominant. So I think that’s a consideration.”

Now, here was Breslow on Wednesday as his team opens up Spring Training, from the Boston Globe: 

“Yeah, I don’t think we can get overly caught up in public projections,” said Breslow. “We believe not just in our materials and in our tools, but also in our players and our staff. Trevor [Story], right? He’s going to be back and, you know, we anticipate another full, healthy season, and reason to believe that there’s even another step forward for him to take . . . Guys like Roman [Anthony] and Willie [Wilyer Abreu] . . . We may have someone who hits over 20 home runs. We may not ultimately.”  

Giphy Images.

Maybe Craig Breslow is a good person. Maybe he holds the door for others. He says please and thank you. He tips his trash guys and mailman well. Maybe he recycles properly. Maybe he's kind to animals. 

But boy, do I hate it when he opens his mouth to talk baseball. 

I know, I need to get over it because we're stuck with him. And the Sox should be good this season. But this pivot from talking about how much they need to add power to shrugging his shoulders about projected home run production is maddening. 

FanGraphs ZiPS projections have Roman Anthony as the projected team leader in home runs with 18. Streamer projections have Wilson Contreras and his 19 home runs leading the way. Both have the Sox as the only team in baseball without a 20-home-run hitter. 

I'm not going to get bogged down in what the nerds, er, computers are saying, but just know this - the 2026 Boston Red Sox are trying to win with run prevention. 

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I am on the record as being against that. Like, very against it. And I think money was the reason the team chose this route, after Breslow highlighted home runs as super important just days after the season ended. Power became too expensive on the free agent market for him and or Red Sox owner John Henry, and here we are. 

And if you're pissed off with the approach and the way it was handled, well, that anger is 100% justified. 

It was a major topic on this week's Dirty Water - A Boston Sports Podcast. We hit on Breslow's plan plus all the major topics you'd expect from a high-energy Red Sox Podcast: 

⚾ Official offseason grades for Craig Breslow 

⚾ Hogdale's Super Bowl Trip 

⚾ Roman Anthony looks JACKED 

⚾ The fellas play a round of The Dozen Trivia 

⚾ The Caleb Durbin Trade 

⚾ Fasoli is the man 

⚾ First look at the Red Sox lineup 

⚾ Hogdale is sick 

⚾ The Trevor Story Problem

⚾ Cam Schlittler is back on Twitter and still a loser 

⚾ Hog and Kutter teach Mut about 'Framemogging.' 

Plus so much more. New episodes every week. And every series, once the real games start. 

It's baseball season! Watch and subscribe on YouTube or listen and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.