Since news began trickling out about the Red Sox search for a new head of baseball operations, one of the more intriguing names bandied about has been Craig Breslow.

The former Red Sox pitcher and current Chicago Cubs assistant general manager and senior vice president of pitching is reportedly among a handful of candidates known to have interviewed for the job, and on Wednesday night Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reported that Breslow is in advanced discussions to join Boston’s front office.

Whether those discussions ultimately bear fruit remains to be seen, and it’s not clear if Breslow would immediately ascend to the top job or slot in as the No. 2 under a new president of baseball operations. Either way, the 43-year-old Breslow appears to have a real shot.

That might seem surprising for some, especially fans who feel like Breslow was pitching out of the Red Sox bullpen just yesterday, but the lefty has always been regarded as one of the most intelligent people in the game. Once he made the jump to the front office ranks he quickly established himself as a rising star, and whether it’s in Boston, Chicago or someplace else it’s clear he has a bright future ahead of him.

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Breslow pitched for 12 seasons in the big leagues as a left-handed reliever between 2005-17, including five with the Red Sox. His best season came in 2013, when he was a key member of Boston’s World Series championship squad and posted a 1.81 ERA over 59.2 innings and 61 appearances.

Following his retirement Breslow was recruited by Theo Epstein to join the Cubs front office, and since starting in 2019 he’s become deeply involved in the organization’s efforts to overhaul its pitching development program. He was elevated to director of pitching and later to his current assistant GM role, and where the Cubs previously struggled to develop homegrown arms Breslow’s efforts have produced a wave of talented pitchers who are already making an impact in the majors.

Look no further than the strides made this year by Cy Young contender Justin Steele and by 2021 first-round pick Jordan Wicks. For an organization like Boston that has struggled to consistently develop high-end pitching talent, Breslow’s track record has obvious appeal.

Right place, right time

One common refrain we’ve heard throughout the search process is that potential targets have declined to pursue the Red Sox job due to family considerations.

In Breslow’s case, the family element might actually work in Boston’s favor.

Originally from Connecticut, Breslow has deep ties to New England and still lives a short drive from Fenway Park. The Yale graduate has often worked remotely from his home in Newton since joining the Cubs front office, so while many candidates have balked at uprooting their families to come to Boston, Breslow’s circumstances would make the role uniquely appealing.

Breslow also has familiarity with most of the front office dating back to his playing days and presumably a good understanding of how the organization currently functions. If Breslow is hired, that familiarity could help him hit the ground running and implement the changes he feels will help the Red Sox unlock their potential.

Worth the risk?

The downside to Breslow’s candidacy is even compared to many other recently retired players who have successfully transitioned to the front office world, he is very inexperienced. Breslow is not the Cubs top decision-maker or even it’s No. 2 man, and so far he’s thrived in a comparatively narrow role with fewer responsibilities related to executing transactions, negotiating contracts and running a baseball operations department as a whole.

That being said, Breslow would inherit a well-established front office infrastructure including executive vice president of baseball operations Brian O’Halloran and the trio of assistant GMs Eddie Romero, Raquel Ferreira and Michael Groopman to help handle all of those things. Alternatively, the Red Sox could elevate Romero or hire another outside candidate as president of baseball operations and install Breslow as GM, which would still represent a big promotion from his current job in Chicago.

You also don’t have to look hard for proof someone with Breslow’s background can thrive in the big chair.

Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young, also an Ivy League graduate and a recently retired MLB pitcher, was only 41 when he was hired in late 2020. Under his leadership the Rangers have aggressively surrounded their homegrown core with high-end outside talent, and now Texas is back in the ALCS for the first time since 2011.

One area where Young has excelled, and where former Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom often drew criticism, is the ability to keep his finger on the pulse of the clubhouse. The past couple summers Red Sox players often expressed frustration over the team’s relative inactivity at the trade deadline, which may have contributed to the club’s second half swoons.

Young, a former player, understood that waiting for the club to get healthy would send the wrong message and swung several big deals that helped keep the Rangers afloat. Breslow also understands those clubhouse dynamics, and having already won a World Series title here he might be better equipped than most to navigate life as Boston’s baseball boss.

If nothing else Breslow’s already done enough to warrant serious consideration, now it will be fascinating to see if the Red Sox ultimately hand him the ball.

A lawyer for a family of American citizens from Medway trapped in Gaza near a crossing with Egypt said they are still desperately awaiting word on whether they can escape the gruesome warzone even as airstrikes pounded buildings Thursday morning near where they were staying.

Attorney Sammy Nabulsi, who represents Abood Okal, Wafaa Abuzayda, and their 1-year-old son, Yousef, said the family is stranded near the Rafah Crossing, a border checkpoint in Southern Gaza with Egypt, and is running out of food and water. The family traveled to Gaza for a two-week trip to visit Abuzayda’s parents, Nabulsi said.

Airstrikes have hit the area in recent days, Nabulsi said, including one Thursday that struck buildings just over 100 yards from where the family is sheltering. In a message sent on WhatsApp, Okal told Nabulsi that “windows shattered and walls cracked.”

“My son was sleeping under a window. (Wafaa) had to snatch him out in fear of glass falling on him,” Okal said in a message sent to Nabulsi just after 7 a.m. Thursday that was shared with the Herald. “We’re ok, kids are crying so trying to calm them down. About 100 meters away. Close enough the walls of the house cracked.”

An image of the airstrike’s aftermath shows a plum of gray smoke rising over a mass of buildings near the City of Rafah, Gaza. Nabulsi said this is the closest the family has been to an airstrike after Okal witnessed one Tuesday while traveling to a nearby town to find milk for his son.

“What’s become clear is even Southern Gaza and the town of Rafah, which is where they are currently located hoping and waiting to cross into Egypt, is also unsafe,” said Nabulsi, a Boston-based lawyer with Rose Law Partners. “I’m particularly worried about airstrikes in the south because that’s presumably where all the other American citizens who wish to exit Gaza into Egypt are currently located.”

United States officials estimate 500 to 600 American citizens are trapped in Gaza without a way to exit as the number of deaths from a war with Israel continues to rage less than two weeks after Hamas militants stormed into Israel and killed civilians in a brutal terrorist attack.

Israeli airstrikes continued Thursday across the entirety of Gaza, including in the south where Israel declared “safe zones.” More than 1 million Palestinians, roughly half of Gaza’s population, have fled homes in the north and Gaza City after Israel told residents to evacuate the north in advance of an expected ground assault.

The death toll is mounting on both sides.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday that nearly 3,800 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,500 were wounded. More than 1,400 people in Israel were dead, most from the initial attack by Hamas, and hundreds were taken hostage.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday that limited humanitarian aid could flow into Gaza from Egypt following a request from President Joe Biden. But it is unclear if any U.S. citizens will be able to flee Gaza through the Rafah Crossing, where United Nations flags are expected to be raised to protect trucks carrying aid supplies.

Nabulsi said the Medway family received messages Wednesday that the border between Gaza and Egypt would open for Americans to flee.

But only a few hours later, Nabulsi said he heard from U.S. officials that the limited aid deal “does not include any provision for the confirmed and safe departure of any American citizen in Gaza.”

“I asked myself this question like what on earth can I do next? Because I’m just getting to the point where I feel like I’m sitting here banging my head on a table saying like, these people are about to die and no one seems to do anything about it,” Nabulsi said in an interview.

Nabusli said he has been in touch with the U.S. Department of State, White House, and the offices of U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, Seth Moutlon, and Jim McGovern.

The family is a constituent of McGovern so any case work would fall to his office. A spokesperson for McGovern did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Markey, Warren, and New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen penned a Tuesday letter to the White House and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging federal officials “to do everything possible to provide assistance to U.S. citizens fleeing the Gaza Strip, including our constituents from New England.”

“We are also concerned that our offices have received requests from multiple families from New England who are seeking assistance. These families are terrified for their lives and growing more frustrated as promises of escape through the opening of the Rafah Crossing remain unfulfilled,” the trio wrote, specifically pointing to the Medway family.

Nabulsi said he also wants to see more involvement from Gov. Maura Healey as the state’s federal delegation continues to push the White House and State Department for help.

“That advocacy needs to include her,” he said. “Everybody at every level of government needs to put their pencils down, and they should be doing nothing other than focusing on bringing all of these American citizens home safely, immediately.”

At an unrelated press conference Thursday, Healey said she was aware of the Medway family’s situation, calling it “heartbreaking.”

“I know that our senators have already been in touch with the State Department. There’s been a considerable amount of advocacy on their behalf, but it is a heartbreaking situation for them, for so many,” Healey told reporters.

Materials from the Associated Press were used in this report.

LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing pressure to help free a Californian imprisoned in China when he travels there next week.

David Lin, a 67-year-old pastor from Orange County, has been behind bars since 2006, when he was arrested and given a life sentence for whatthe U.S. government says are bogus charges of contract fraud. His daughter, Alice Lin, said she hopes Newsom will press Chinese officials to release Lin.

Newsom should “raise my father’s case by name as well as the names of other wrongfully detained Americans,” she said in an exclusive interview. “We do not want my dad to be forgotten.”

So far, the Democratic governor has signaled a near-laser focus on climate change for his weeklong trip, which includes stops in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing as well as a reception with U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns, who met with Lin and two other American detainees earlier this year.

Newsom’s reluctance to raise human rights and the case of a constituent unjustly jailed in a Beijing prison may help smooth his meetings with Chinese officials. But it will likely spark criticism from China hawks on Capitol Hill who are pushing the Biden administration to take a harder line with Beijing for such abuses. It also threatens to overshadow a trip Newsom hopes will bolster California’s reputation as a leader in the global clean energy economy and build his foreign policy experience for a potential White House bid in 2028.

Newsom should “advocate for the American citizens, lawful permanent residents and political prisoners unjustly detained by China,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. “They cannot be forgotten — and every American official who visits China must demand they be freed.”

Newsom officials declined to respond to a query about Lin and referred POLITICO to the State Department. Neither the White House nor the State Department responded to queries about whether they had briefed Newsom’s team on the administration’s China priorities or whether they considered human rights and unjustly jailed U.S. citizens to be strictly federal issues. However, the governor’s team has been in direct communication with the White House and the Biden administration has signed off on the trip.

A Newsom aide signaled this week that issues like Lin’s case weren’t part of the governor’s priorities.

“The trip is predominantly focused on climate,” spokesperson Erin Mellon told reporters Tuesday in response to a question on whether human rights were on Newsom’s trip agenda. “We are obviously a state, so I think we look to our federal partners on federal issues.”

Beijing has no problem with that narrow agenda. The Chinese government hopes Newsom’s trip “will produce good results and bolster California’s exchanges and cooperation with China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters on Thursday.

Religious freedom organizations including ChinaAid say Chinese authorities targeted Lin because of his efforts to build a place of worship foran unofficial “house church” forbidden under Chinese law. He is scheduled to be released in 2029 following several reductions of his sentence.

Lin’s family said they worry Newsom’s disinterest may condemn Lin — who’ll be 68 next month — to die behind bars due to failing health. His release date “is too far off — I honestly don’t know if he will be able to make it until then,” Alice Lin said.

Alice Lin isn’t the only Californian urging Newsom to speak up for her dad. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), whose district includes Lin’s Orange County home, “supports Governor Newsom doing what he can to bring David home to his family,” a Porter spokesperson, Peter Opitz, said in a statement.

Linis one of three Americans imprisoned in China whom the State Department’s office of the special presidential envoy on hostage affairs (SPEHA) has designated as “wrongful detainees.” The designation authorizes Roger Carstens, the special envoy, to seek their release. SPEHA didn’t respond to a request for comment on the status of the Biden administration’s efforts to free Lin or the other two detainees, Kai Li and Mark Swidan.

A failure by Newsom to raise Lin’s case will likely surprise his hosts, one human-rights advocate said. “Chinese officials I work with expect him to raise cases of arbitrarily detained Americans — to do otherwise would be shameful and disqualifying,” said John Kamm, founder of the Dui Hua Foundation, which advocates for the release of victims of unjust jailing in China.

Newsom also plans to tour several renewable energy facilities, including an electric bus depot, an offshore wind factory and a Tesla vehicle manufacturing plant. Tesla’s China-based operations have been linked to components sourced in the Xinjiang region, where Chinese officials are known to use forced labor from Muslim Uyghurs.

Media coverage of that Tesla tour — and Newsom’s preference for a narrative of win-win China-California climate ties — will sustain criticism from human rights advocates and attacks from political opponents long after he returns to Sacramento.

“That’s the danger of domestic politicians trying to pad their résumés and stepping into trouble before they actually get to the campaign,” said Samuel Chu, president of the nonprofit advocacy group The Campaign for Hong Kong.