The Red Sox have undoubtedly had a quieter offseason than many anticipated, considering that the team is coming off two straight American League East last-place finishes.
But on Friday night during Winter Weekend, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner, president/CEO Sam Kennedy, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, and manager Alex Cora all stressed that fans shouldn’t confuse a lack of offseason fireworks with lower expectations for 2024 and beyond.
After a number of targets fell through the cracks, none more so than Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Red Sox concluded that it was best to avoid overvaluing what was still available.
Rather, the Sox are hoping that the highly anticipated top prospects (Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, Kyle Teel) will get closer to making their Major League debuts while the team’s excellent young core (Triston Casas, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck, etc.) may advance in the upcoming season.
Kennedy even predicted that the team’s 2024 salary would be less than the $225.7 million that they put in the organization the previous year due to the Competitive Balance Tax.
It can be a difficult message to sell for a team that bears the reputation and expectations of the Red Sox, as demonstrated by the jeers directed at Kennedy and Breslow when they were speaking on a panel at Friday night’s Winter Weekend opening night event.
Kennedy declared, “It’s on me, it’s on us, we need to be better.” “We promise to do every effort to achieve this goal, beginning in 2024. This is a procedure that was initiated in 2019 and 2020. It goes on, and we acknowledge that the outcomes have been wholly unsatisfactory. And we are to blame for that. We are this organization’s leaders. It’s not something to sugarcoat. We must improve.
The Sox signed free agent outfielder Tyler O’Neill and starting pitcher Lucas Giolito this winter. Vaughn Grissom was acquired by the Braves in exchange for former pitcher Chris Sale, and it is hoped that the prospect would assume second base duties.
The Sox are still searching for a right-handed bat and another starting pitcher with less than a month until Spring Training. Breslow has made it clear that he wants to sign players who will have contracts that provide the club numerous years of control.
With confidence, Breslow declared. “Obviously, I believe that we have been quite clear about what those limitations are in the last several days. I believe there are few players who fall into those categories. However, as you can see, those elements must all coincide and come together.