Well, this isn’t going to help put an end to the “Tampa Bay North” jokes. Craig Breslow just made the most significant front office hire of his tenure in charge of the Red Sox, poaching executive Taylor Smith from the Tampa Bay Rays. Smith graduated from college in 2018 and has worked for the Rays for seven years, most recently as their Director of Predictive Modeling. He will focus on analytics and likely be given a lofty title, though it isn’t yet clear what that will be. (Sean McAdam, Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
Taylor joins a front office in the middle of a shake-up, with several positions yet to be filled.