Craig Breslow lays out trade deadline plan in wake of Alex Cora extension

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow took care of one big piece of business on Wednesday when he finalized a three-year extension with manager Alex Cora. Next up? Navigating the MLB trade deadline, which is coming up on Tuesday.

The Red Sox have put themselves firmly in the playoff race, sitting one game out of the final American League wild card spot despite losing five of six since the All-Star break. Appearing on The Greg Hill Show Thursday morning, Breslow made it clear that Boston’s recent skid has not altered his deadline plans; he wants to add and believes the team has earned that.

“I think our play over the last two to three months -- and we can obviously point to a tough road trip coming out of the All-Star break -- but I think Alex said it really well in saying that didn't represent who we are as a team,” Breslow said. “You can get yourself in a tough place when you're living and dying day-to-day. I think instead, we see the total body of work. We see the momentum that we had built heading into the All-Star break. We can look at the guys that we expect to get back here in the near future and say we should be looking at ways to improve the team. And so, that's how we're going to spend the next few days here.”

As for what he’s looking to add, Breslow’s priority is not surprising: a right-handed bat that can help the Red Sox produce more offense against left-handed pitching.

“I think it's pretty clear that our lineup is pretty left-handed heavy,” Breslow said. “We’ve struggled against left-handed pitching, so I think trying to find a right-handed hitter that can help even out the lineup a little bit. One with positional versatility would be super helpful, whether that's first base or potentially in the outfield. I think that's probably where we'll spend some time.”

Breslow sounds like someone who will be willing to deal away prospects to upgrade the major-league roster, although it remains to be seen if that might include one of their “big three” of Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel.

“Of course we have to line up, but I think we've got a good farm system,” he said. “We've got depth, we've got some opportunities to use guys in conversations that are going to be really good major league players but may not have the opportunity to do so here.”

There was some thought that Cora would not have signed an extension if there wasn’t a promise from the front office to invest more in the team this season. While that may not have quite been the case – Cora himself said that family considerations played a big role in his decision to extend – Breslow said that he and Cora talk often about where the team is at, and that their visions are aligned.

“Alex and I have had great conversations for going on six months now,” Breslow said. “I think I've been very open about where we are and the opportunities that I think we're going to have in front of us. He has also been outspoken about opportunities for us to improve, and that's exactly what I would want in a manager, exactly what I would want in a thought partner. And so, we've talked about and I think I've talked about here over the last couple of weeks that we're focused at this point on trying to find opportunities to improve the club.

“But in terms of what Alex's expectations are, I think we were both completely honest with each other, and he was very honest about the fact that Boston was a place that was very comfortable for his family and that was of significant importance. And additionally, he wanted to be in a place where we had a chance to win the World Series, and so do I. So, the fact that we had that in common makes for a great partnership.”