The Boston Red Sox today announced that they have exercised the club’s 2029 and 2030 contract options on Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow and named Chad Tracy the team’s 49th manager in club history, agreeing to a three-year contract that will run through the 2029 season with a club option in 2030.
“Craig and Chad are two exceptionally talented leaders who have earned these opportunities in very different ways,” said Red Sox President & CEO Sam Kennedy. “Over the last three years, we have watched Craig bring clarity, discipline, and conviction to the work of building our baseball operation. Chad was asked to step into a difficult situation with little notice, but the trust he immediately commanded at the major league level was earned through years of work across our organization. What this team has accomplished over the past several months has been historic. Results matter greatly in this business, but so do judgment, character, and the ability to bring out the best in others. Craig and Chad have demonstrated all of those qualities, and they have earned our confidence in leading us forward.”
Breslow, 46, was hired as Chief Baseball Officer on October 25, 2023. A 2013 World Series champion with Boston, Breslow is only the fourth former Red Sox player to lead the club’s baseball operations efforts, the first since Haywood Sullivan served as General Manager from 1978-83. During his three seasons in his current role, the Red Sox have gone 254-226 (.529), the third-best record in the American League and ninth best in the Majors.
Prior to his 2023 hiring, Breslow spent the previous five seasons in the Chicago Cubs organization, most recently as Assistant General Manager/Senior Vice President, Pitching in 2023. His front office career began in 2019 with the Cubs as Director of Strategic Initiatives, evaluating and implementing data-based processes throughout all facets of Baseball Operations while also supporting the pitching infrastructure in the farm system. In 2020 he was named Director of Pitching/Special Assistant to the President and General Manager, then spent the 2021-22 seasons as Assistant General Manager/Vice President, Pitching.
Tracy, 41, made his Major League debut as Interim Manager on April 26. After entering that day tied for the American League’s second-worst record (10-17, .370), the Red Sox’ 74-55 (.574) record since is the second best in the AL and fifth best in the Majors.
Under Tracy, Boston posted the best 30-game span in franchise history, going 27-3 (.900) from July 3 through August 7. That stretch included a club-record-tying 15-game winning streak from July 3 through July 22-G1, a streak matched only by the 1946 Red Sox. Boston’s 21-4 (.840) record during July marked the club’s best winning percentage ever in a calendar month (minimum 20 games) and the third-best record of any Major League club during July.
A native of Illinois, Tracy earned his 499th career minor league managerial win on April 25, one day before being named Boston’s interim manager. He had served as Triple-A Worcester’s manager since 2022, leading the WooSox to a winning record in each of his four full seasons as manager (2022-25). Tracy spent the previous seven seasons (2015-21) in the Los Angeles Angels system, including three as a minor league manager with Low-A Burlington (2015) and High-A Inland Empire (2016-17). He served as the Angels’ minor league field coordinator from 2018-21.
Selected by the Texas Rangers in the third round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Pepperdine University, Tracy played eight professional seasons (2006-13) in the Rangers, Colorado Rockies, and Kansas City Royals organizations. While at Pepperdine (2004-06), he earned West Coast Conference Player of the Year and First-Team All-Conference honors in 2005.