Red Sox's Craig Breslow May Have Whiffed On Offseason Trade After Early Results

Boston appears to have traded away an All-Star caliber reliever

Scott Neville | Apr 30, 2024

Apr 26, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher John Schreiber (46) throws in the / David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox were not nearly as active in free agency as fans had hoped following comments of a "full-throttle" winter from ownership but first-time chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was plenty active in the trade market.

Breslow was able to make some nifty trades this offseason, most notably acquiring breakout outfielder Tyler O'Neill from the St. Louis Cardinals -- who currently leads the Red Sox in just about every notable offensive category.

There was one trade, however, that has not gotten off the ground smoothly, though it's far too early to be concerned. During spring training, the Red Sox traded right-handed reliever John Schreiber to the Kansas City Royals for right-handed starter David Sandlin.

Schreiber has been dominant in the early goings for the Royals this season and will be under team control through the 2026 season. The 30-year-old is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA, 9-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .174 batting average against and a 0.85 WHIP in 13 innings since the trade.

Sandlin, meanwhile, has had a rocky start for High-A Greenville. The 23-year-old has a 6.75 ERA with a 14-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .250 batting average against and a 1.69 WHIP in 10 2/3 innings.

Sandlin is the Red Sox's No. 14 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, the fourth-highest-rated hurler in the farm system. Breslow desperately needed to bolster the pitching pipeline and was able to acquire a legit prospect in a reasonable one-for-one swap.

While it would have been nice to envision Schreiber alongside the Red Sox bullpen core that now includes Justin Slaten and Greg Weissert, Breslow was wise to invest in the future.

It's tough to ignore what Schreiber has been able to do in Royals blue but Sandlin likely will settle into the season and prove why he was worth the investment. The trade appears to be rocky at the moment but it's far too early to evaluate this move just one month into the season.

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Published Apr 30, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu