What Red Sox Are Expected to Do With Chad Tracy, Craig Breslow

The Boston Red Sox made the right call turning to Chad Tracy.

Sep 4, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Boston Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy takes questions from reporters before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Jamie LeBlanc-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Back in April, the Boston Red Sox's season was going off the rails.

The Red Sox started the season off with a 10-17 record and opted to fire a World Series-winning manager in Alex Cora — plus a handful of other coaches — and take a gamble by turning the reins over to interim manager Chad Tracy. At the time, it seemed like the sky was falling. That's because the losses kept piling up, so much so that the Red Sox were 14 games below .500 at 32-46 on June 25.

At the time, the season looked like a disaster. The Red Sox were trending towards being sellers ahead of the trade deadline, both Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet were on the Injured List with no end in sight, and it seemed like chief baseball officer Craig Breslow's seat was getting hotter and hotter. But the Red Sox transformed their season and now, with the season winding down, ESPN's Buster Olney reported on Wednesday that the expectation is that both Breslow and Tracy will stay on with Boston beyond the 2026 season.

"But Breslow's vision of a team succeeding with pitching and defense fully manifested, and the Red Sox are closing in on a playoff berth and will likely face the Yankees in the wild-card round, again," Olney wrote. "Manager Chad Tracy has been working under an interim tag all season, something of a head-scratcher; it may be that the two sides talked about the idea of an extension in midseason but set aside the topic for the offseason. But Boston is now expected to retain both Breslow and Tracy."

The Red Sox Are Making The Right Call

Dec 9, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow speaks with the media at the Hilton Anatole during the 2024 MLB Winter Meetings. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

This is undoubtedly the right call for the Red Sox at this time.

Let's start with Breslow. Whether you love him or not, he has built a team that can go on a run. Sure, there have been some misses over the last few years. Losing Alex Bregman was a public relations disaster. Not landing one of the big free agent bats, including Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso, this past offseason also was a surprise. But there are far more wins under Breslow's belt, than losses.

Sonny Gray is going to get Cy Young Award votes and has been Boston's ace this season. Ranger Suárez was an All-Star. Willson Contreras was an All-Star. Caleb Durbin is the heart and the soul of the 2026 Red Sox. Now, the Red Sox have an All-Star catcher on their hands in Adley Rutschman. Bringing back Mickey Gasper has turned into a game-changing move. And the list goes on. The Red Sox have a roster that can make noise.

On the Tracy front, there was obviously a learning curve to being a big league manager taking over during a season, especially in such a high-profile market, like Boston. He has handled the role with grace and has clearly gotten better as the year has gone on. Plus, it doesn't hurt that the Red Sox went on a historic 15-game winning streak and put together one of the best mid-season turnarounds in MLB history. All in all, these two should both be back in 2026 and it sounds like that will be the reality.