Red Sox have to ask Craig Breslow hard questions after obvious Roki Sasaki failure

The Boston media is kind for three weeks at a time, tops. Red Sox president of baseball operations Craig Breslow has learned that the hard way. Breslow impressed all of baseball when he traded for Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet and signed Walker Buehler, seemingly setting the Red Sox up with a solid six-man rotation. However, his plans for this winter were far from done, as Boston hoped to be in the mix for Roki Sasaki.

That...didn't really work out, as Sasaki is down the five finalists, none of which are Boston. The Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Padres and Rangers are reportedly some of the favorites to land Sasaki. The Red Sox pitch...didn't land for reasons the untrained eye doesn't understand. Boston would feature a top-tier rotation with Sasaki in it. Their lineup is rapidly improving thanks to a strong farm system and smart additions. What am I missing?

Breslow scouted Sasaki in September and has stayed in contact with his representation in Joel Wolfe. Yet, for some reason, Breslow's Sox weren't included in the mix. Here is what he had to say in December, when such an option was still a possibility.

“Without getting too specific into the details of any individual pursuit, we had not been granted a meeting earlier but hope to stay involved and stay engaged,” Breslow said. “We pitched why we feel like Boston is a great environment for [Nippon Professional Baseball] pitchers to come over. We can speak to our track record of success. But, ultimately, it’s not our decision.”

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

Why won't Roki Sasaki consider the Boston Red Sox at all?

Frankly, this article was tough to write. It's hard to find an opinion on such an article, but Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe was willing make a statement, even if it doesn't entirely fall on Breslow.

"How carefully Sasaki considered their pitch isn’t known. But there was a time when international stars saw the Sox as a primary option going. That goes back to the days when they fought with the Yankees for José Contreras. Now they’re just one of the crowd chasing the Dodgers and Yankees," Abraham wrote.

What happened to that team? Perhaps it's true Sasaki wants to play on the west coast, and didn't view Boston as a match. The Mets and Yankees could be the next teams out of the mix. Nonetheless, Red Sox fans are tired of excuses, and no answer Breslow gives will help his cause with the fanbase or Boston media.