Chicago Cubs executive Craig Breslow interviews for Boston's top baseball operations job

Back in September, rumors swirled about the possibility of Chicago Cubs Senior Vice President of Pitching and Assistant General Manager Craig Breslow leaving the organization for greener pastures in Boston.

At the time, the fit was more speculative based on connections and Cubs beat reporter at The Athletic Sahadev Sharma even poured cold water over the reports, saying there was no contact between the two teams. Now that the season is over, however, Bresow wasted no time reconnecting with his old team.

Alex Speier of the Boston Globe recently reported that Breslow interviewed for the top baseball operations job with the Red Sox. It would be a huge move up for him if he's chosen to succeed Chaim Bloom. Even if he doesn't become President or General Manager, however, the interview could also be the precursor to another role in the organization or even open doors to interviews with other teams if the Red Sox decide to go in a different direction.

Furthermore, a report from the New York Post also revealed that Breslow is seen internally as a strong candidate to ascend to the top rung of Boston's baseball operations. It's not hard to see why - Breslow spent most of his playing years with the Sox and became a World Series champion with the team as part of the 2013 team. He also grew up in Connecticut and has family locally. Coupled with his excellent work turning the Cubs into a strong pitching development organization, he'd be exactly what Boston needs.

The Red Sox seem to be casting a very wide net to find their next head of operations, however. Aside from Breslow, Boston also interviewed a host of internal candidates as well as several executives from around the league like Twins GM Thad Levine and former Pirates GM Neal Huntington. It's speculated that they could also check in with Kim Ng, the former Marlins GM who recently parted ways with the organization over philosophical differences.

Craig Breslow's departure would be bad news for the Cubs

While this would be a huge, potentially life-changing opportunity for Breslow to skyrocket up the ranks in the baseball world, it would undoubtedly be a major loss for the Cubs who thrived under his tenure since he was hired in 2019. He started as the team's director of strategic initiatives, but his work with the pitching infrastructure was enough to earn multiple promotions to his current position.

A lot of the team's biggest pitching success stories in recent years, from Justin Steele's rise as an ace to the revitalization of relievers like David Robertson, Craig Kimbrel and Andrew Chafin, can be traced back to Breslow. He's been instrumental in helping this team cobble together respectable bullpens with scraps and finding starters that are good fits overall for the team.

Nothing is for certain yet, but it's worth keeping an eye on throughout the offseason as the ramifications for the Cubs long-term could be massive.