The Red Sox announced Friday that they have declined the $4 million option on Craig Breslow�s contract for 2015. Breslow will receive a $100,000 buyout and become a free agent.

The Red Sox announced Friday that they have declined the $4 million option on Craig Breslow�s contract for 2015. Breslow will receive a $100,000 buyout and become a free agent.

The move came as no surprise after the worst season of Breslow�s career. The reliever, who turned 34 in August, posted a 5.96 ERA and 1.859 WHIP over 54 1/3 innings. That came a season after Breslow was a linchpin of Boston�s championship-winning bullpen, during which he had a 1.81 ERA in the regular season and 2.45 mark in the postseason.

Late in the season, Breslow opined that the workload of 2013 likely had an impact on his 2014 performance.

�If you were to just kind of look anecdotally at the evidence, you would say I�ve had a consistent offseason for seven years and I�ve had seven years of consistent production. And then there was one that I couldn�t, and this season isn�t in line with what my other seasons have been,� Breslow said. �That being said, obviously I would neither use last season as an excuse nor would I have changed anything.�

The Red Sox could still look to bring Breslow back on a cheaper deal for 2015, though that seems unlikely at the moment. Boston has candidates such as Tommy Layne and Drake Britton to contend for a left-handed role out of the pen next year, and the Sox could use some of the money saved toward, say, Andrew Miller.

Also Friday, the Red Sox reinstated outfielder Shane Victorino from the 60-day disabled list.

Twitter: @TimBritton