The Red Sox have settled their dugout future before the postseason begins, locking in Chad Tracy as their next full-time manager and extending chief baseball officer Craig Breslow at the same time.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Tuesday that Boston has removed the interim label from Tracy’s title and signed him to a three-year deal with a club option for 2030. Passan noted that Tracy stepped in after Alex Cora was fired, when the Red Sox were 12-17, and that Boston has gone 74-55 since then.
The turnaround has been stark. At one point, the Red Sox were 14 games under .500. From there, Tracy helped guide the club back into legitimate World Series contention in a matter of months.
Boston also confirmed the move on X, saying, “The #RedSox 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.”
Tracy’s rise has been quick, but it wasn’t out of nowhere. Before getting the interim job, he spent just over four seasons managing the Worcester Red Sox, Boston’s Triple-A affiliate.
The Red Sox’s announcement made clear this is more than a short-term patch. Tracy will be in the dugout for at least the next three years, while Breslow’s deal is also now set through the 2030 options.
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From a Red Sox perspective, that is the kind of break that can alter the feel of October before a pitch is thrown. New York may still hope Judge can re-enter the picture in the ALDS or later, but for now the door is open for Boston to measure itself against a Yankees lineup that looks far less imposing than usual, with the bigger question still hanging over what comes after the Wild Card round. [Read more 🡒]