Craig Breslow vs Mike Elias: Who is worse?

Craig Breslow vs Mike Elias: Who is worse?

In case you’ve missed it, Craig Breslow has made headlines recently. I don’t know, something about trading some Rafael Devers guy for basically nothing? The unfortunate reality for Red Sox fans is that this is merely one bad move in a long line of poor decisions. But through all this mess, there’s another executive I feel isn’t getting enough heat for the bad job he’s doing. That man is Mike Elias.

Craig Breslow

Where do we even begin with Craig Breslow? I suppose with the trade, that has fans ready to put his head on a spike. Of course I’m talking about the trade that sent Rafael Devers to the Giants in exchange for Jordan Hicks.

This trade was a head-scratcher for everyone, especially considering the Red Sox were fresh off a sweep against the Yankees. Tensions between Devers and the Front office weren’t great, but the team was starting to win, which is usually the cure in situations like these.

Instead, Craig Breslow, out of either spite or stupidity, decided to trade his franchise player for no return. Even worse were the reports that came out right after saying the Red Sox didn’t even shop Devers. Seriously, this guy is your franchise player, and you don’t even have the guts to pick up the phone and make calls.

I don’t know what precisely the market was for Devers, but I know it was a lot better than that. Oh yeah, one of the other headliners in that trade, Kyle Harrison, has already been optioned down to AAA by the Red Sox, so it doesn’t look like he will be contributing anytime soon.

As I mentioned, though, the Rafael Devers trade is simply a symptom of what has become the Red Sox front office, specifically Craig Breslow. We also have a plethora of articles on our site covering every angle you could think of regarding this trade, so I’ll let your curiosity take you there if needed.

Another one of Breslows’ most significant issues has been putting together good teams. Since he has taken over as President of Baseball Operations, the Red Sox have seen one successful year in which they lost in the ALCS in 2021.

Since then, it’s been mediocre baseball for Boston, and Breslow is a big reason why. Take a position like second base. A hole Boston has been looking to fill seemingly since Dustin Pedroia retired. So, who has played that position since?  Jeter Downs, David Hamilton, Vaughn Grissom, Christian Arroyo, to name a few.

The best part, though, is when the Sox decided to back the Brinks truck up for an injury-riddled Trevor Story leaving Coors. In what world could that possibly go wrong? He has a total of 5.1 WAR now in his fourth year with the team.

In 2024, the team was in a similar position to the one it is in right now. Not secure in a playoff spot, but well within striking distance in the AL. Boston desperately needed another bat in that lineup, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr was a hot name on the trade block.

The Red Sox had the prospects to put a package together, but by all accounts simply weren’t interested. Instead, Breslow decided to trudge along with this lineup that unsurprisingly flamed out before the end of the season.

A guy like Vlad was just what this Red Sox team needed. Even if it didn’t immediately lead to huge success, it would have been a message to the fans that the front office is fully committed to this team. A signal that Craig Breslow has a set and wants to win baseball games.

Instead, he did nothing, and once again, this Red Sox team and its fans were forced to pay the price. Much like they will end up doing once this year is all said and done.

There doesn’t seem to be any structure with Breslow. He utilizes AI to conduct interviews for front office positions. He fired a scout for saying mean words to him. It just seems like an emotional teenage boy is running this team, and I don’t know why it’s been allowed to continue.

Then, when it all seems like this is behind us, it comes out that Breslow and the Red Sox used AI in their apology about using AI. You really can’t make this stuff up, folks; it writes itself sometimes.

Mike Elias

You may have read all this up to this point and think, Who could be worse than Craig Breslow? Well, my friend, let me introduce you to Mike Elias. The man is currently running the Baltimore Orioles into the ground.

Let’s go back a couple of years though. The Orioles were one of the youngest and hottest teams in all of baseball. With a core of Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Felix Bautista, the sky felt like the limit for Baltimore after the 2023 season.

2023-2024 Offseason

All Elias needed to do was fill out the right pieces around them, and this team had legit championship aspirations. Going into 2024, one of those needs was starting pitching. That was addressed when the Orioles made a blockbuster trade to bring in Corbin Burnes.

It was the perfect move for an Orioles team pushing all their chips in. The only problem with this trade is that it was essentially the only thing the Orioles did that offseason. They signed Craig Kimbrel to replace an injured Bautista. But that was it, Craig Kimbrel was the only free agent the Orioles signed in 2023.

Sure, they didn’t need to go all out, and Elias was slightly hampered early in the free agency process. But adding another arm or two in the bullpen or even a bench bat wouldn’t have hurt. It took the wind out of the sails that came from the Corbin Burnes trade.

2024 Trade Deadline

Let’s take a closer look at 2024. It’s the trade deadline, and the Orioles are clear buyers at the deadline. They need some arms both in the bullpen and the rotation. Not only that, but they have plenty of prospects they can use to make a big trade.

Things started well with the trade for Zach Eflin; unfortunately, the good ended there. Garrett Crochet was the biggest name available during last year’s deadline. Every contending team wanted him, but the Orioles were in the unique position of actually being able to put together a package to acquire him.

It was another perfect move staring down the face of Mike Elias. His owner had given him the green light, saying he wanted to spend money. Elias, though, decided to go another direction by signing fellow lefty Trevor Rodgers.

It was once again a chance for the Orioles to push all their chips in, but for whatever reason, they were still scared. Take a prospect like Colby Mayo, a great player who has no spot in a talented Orioles infield. This makes him a prime candidate for a trade, especially as a team looking to contend now.

No matter how good Mayo may end up being, there’s no value he can give you right now. So it makes sense to move him while you can and bring in some arms that help you win in October. You would think it’s that easy, but for Mike Elias, it wasn’t.

Another example is catching prospect Samuel Basallo. With Rutschman holding down the position, there isn’t a clear path for Basallo to make it to the majors anytime soon. Making him a perfect candidate to be traded for a top-end starter like Garrett Crochet.

The point is, Elias has had ample opportunity to improve this team. Heck, the owner has come out and said they aren’t going to limit how much money they spend. Pretty much a green light to sign or trade for whoever you want. Something countless executives in baseball would kill to hear.

All of this led to the Orioles being forced to take on the Kansas City Royals in the Wild Card round. Ironically, though, it was their pitching that kept them in the series while the offense laid an egg.

Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Anthony Santander all went ice-cold, scoring just two runs across 18 innings. Not a whole lot you can do when your entire offense disappears. Fair enough, what I will still blame Elias for, though, is not being aggressive enough early on and giving this team the depth it needed to finish the year out strong.

Had Mike Elias done that, this Orioles team very easily could have won their division and earned that first-round bye. Avoiding the Wild Card weekend in its entirety.

2024- 2025 offseason

But perhaps Elias’s biggest fail was this most recent offseason. Playing a significant role in why this team is currently 33-43, last in the AL East.

The Orioles had two major free agents to re-sign or replace. Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander. Two guys who played a massive role in the Orioles’ success the year prior. The Orioles decided to let both walk, creating two glaring holes Elias now had to fill. A top-end starter and corner outfielder.

He had $60 million to spend to make this happen. So what did he do? He signed Tyler O’Neill, Charlie Morton, and Kyle Gibson. As well as a few other guys who aren’t important.

In total, eight players were signed in an attempt to fill these holes. The eight players signed so far have a combined fWAR of -0.3. No, you didn’t misread that. Mike Elias signed eight players who have collectively made the team much worse.

$60 million in payroll for below league-average play should be enough on its own to get you fired. Even worse is the fact that you signed these guys to replace two key pieces.

What Mike Elias did to try and replace that talent is borderline criminal. It’s one thing to be the executive of the Rays, where you have a hard cap on what you can spend. The Orioles’ front office wants to win, and they have made that clear.

I say try because, for whatever reason, Mike Elias still has a job. All of this leads us to our current situation—the Baltimore Orioles are in last place in the AL East with no real hope for this season.

It’s not over for the Orioles, though. They still have a great young core of prospects and an owner who wants to spend money. It’s just about Mike Elias growing a pair and pushing some of his chips in to show he wants to play.

Conclusion

All that and we still need to answer the question. Who is the worst executive? I would still have to go with Craig Breslow, not just because of the Devers trade or the Story contract, but also because of everything else that has come out.

Using AI to interview people for front office positions, the lack of communication between the front office and Devers, and the clear disconnect within the clubhouse over this season. It just doesn’t seem like Breslow knows what he’s doing at all and reacts based on emotion rather than logic.

Elias has undoubtedly made his share of bad decisions, but I also haven’t seen him ask Gunnar Henderson to play outfield in the middle of a season. Or fire a scout for a mean comment they made.

Craig Breslow is a pre-Madonna, plain and simple. He likely thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room when his track record proves the exact opposite. It’s a shame because Boston baseball deserves better.

Even if it’s not a guy who wins right away, they at least wanna see an executive try to make moves. Not sit idly year after year while teams around them get better.

Neither of these guys is very good at their job, but one had to be worse. Perhaps recency bias is influencing my choice of Breslow, but upon examining his body of work while in Boston, there isn’t anything to be impressed with.

He has turned one of the most storied franchises into the definition of mediocrity. And until Craig Breslow is replaced, nothing will change that.

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