Craig Breslow is exploring the trade market, but isn’t ready to say how Red Sox will approach looming deadline

Through the first three months of the season, even as contention for the Red Sox appeared remote, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow declined to make a definitive declaration about his team’s approach to the deadline. Now that the team has surged into playoff position on the strength of the franchise’s longest winning streak since 1948?

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“I will continue to do so,” he said of avoiding definitive declarations about the team’s trade approach during a brief conversation prior to the Sox’ 6-1 win over the Rays on Sunday.

Why? With two weeks remaining before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, and amidst the best stretch of baseball any team has played this year, why wouldn’t the Red Sox make clear a willingness to buy?

“I think it’s a little bit of everything,” said Breslow.

While the recent tear confirmed the chief baseball officer’s insistence that the Sox had a roster capable of contending, it also underscored how quickly the season can change – and with it, how a deadline approach can alter.

Breslow experienced those shifting winds in 2023 while with the Cubs. Chicago appeared all but certain to sell at the deadline, then went on a furious hot streak as the deadline neared, resulting in a decision to become buyers.

There’s also the chance that, even if the team decides to buy, its needs could shift in the coming days, depending on the progress and status of several players returning from injury (including Ranger Suarez, Connelly Early, and Trevor Story).

There’s also the unknown about what players other teams might make available and what players other teams might seek in a season with few clear sellers.

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“More time means we can get more information,” said Breslow. “There’s understanding who we are … but also just understanding where the rest of the league is, where teams are. There are very few teams at this point who have kind of stepped out and declared themselves willing to sell or made players clearly available. So we’re having exploratory conversations and collecting information.”

If the Sox are still holding down a playoff spot as the trade deadline nears, is it safe to assume the team will double down on its efforts to win in 2026?

“Yeah. Going back to the offseason, the conversation was about taking a step forward from what we had accomplished last year and a lot of belief in this group,” said Breslow. “We’re seeing, I think, some signs of that on the field over the last few weeks, and the guys have been playing really, really well. Our job is to do everything we can to make the best decisions for the organization.”

The exact nature of those decisions remains to be seen, but certainly, the team’s longstanding declaration of belief in the roster – even as the club sank to 14 games under .500 prior to the All-Star break – has been reinforced by the recent play.

“Knowing that we were capable of playing better, of doing more, and then seeing it start to manifest on the field, I share the same feeling that the fans do, which is really enjoying watching these guys show up every day, compete with each other, compete for each other, and give ourselves a chance to win,” said Breslow.

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