Game 1 of the ALWCS between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox was a representation of the choices each had made. Brian Cashman looked on as his offseason decision took the mound. Craig Breslow did the same.
Both teams were in the market for top-of-the-rotation arms last offseason. They went about solving that need in different ways. Cashman chose to lavish Max Fried with the largest contract ever given to a left-handed starting pitcher. Boston wanted him, but Breslow ended up taking a different route. He dipped into his deep farm system to snag a different lefty, trading for Garrett Crochet in a swap of sock colors.