Red Sox beginning to narrow search for Chaim Bloom replacement?

The Red Sox have been searching for their next head of baseball operations since firing chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom last month. It appears that search is beginning to pick up steam, as The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney reported earlier today sources have indicated the Red Sox are in “advanced discussions” with Craig Breslow, who currently serves as assistant GM and senior vice president of pitching for the Cubs, after he interviewed with the club for their top baseball operations job.

That being said, Sean McAdam of MassLive.com pumps the breaks on those rumors, relaying that sources have indicated Mooney’s characterization of the talks “may be premature.” Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, meanwhile, stakes out something of a middle ground between those two reports, noting that a source described Breslow as “a leading candidate” for the top job with the Red Sox, while simultaneously noting that the process isn’t yet approaching the finish line. Speier goes on to note that the Sox have been conducting first-round interviews this week, and that the search appears to be approaching its second round.

Both Mooney and McAdam suggest that, while Breslow’s initial interview was for the job at the head of the Red Sox baseball operations department, Boston may look to hire a more experienced president of baseball operations to lead the department while installing Breslow as the new president’s number two in a GM role. While McAdam suggests that such an arrangement could allow Breslow to “grow into the No. 1 role after a few years,” Mooney adds that if the Red Sox look to add two executives without making Breslow the top decision maker, the Cubs would be in position to make a “substantial offer” for Breslow to stay in his current role with Chicago. Breslow sits below president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and GM Carter Hawkins in the Cubs’ front office chain of command, alongside fellow assistant GM Ehsan Bokhari.

The Cubs have seen significant developments in their player development apparatus on the pitching side during Breslow’s tenure with the club, which began in 2019. The 2023 season in particular saw many of Chicago’s younger arms take impressive steps forward, with left-hander Justin Steele emerging as a candidate for the NL Cy Young award, Adbert Alzolay establishing himself as a quality closer and younger arms like righty Javier Assad and Jordan Wicks flashing mid-to-back of the rotation potential with solid seasons of their own.

Breslow, of course, is far from the only candidate in the mix for the top job in Boston. Though high-profile candidates like former Astros GM James Click and former Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels have declined the opportunity to interview for the position, other experienced candidates like former Pirates GM Neal Huntington and current Twins GM Thad Levine have reportedly interviewed for the position. The Red Sox are also considering a number of internal candidates, including assistant GMs Eddie Romero and Mike Groopman, as well as VP of amateur scouting & player development Paul Toboni.