Perhaps we misinterpreted Tom Werner’s “full throttle” comment. Maybe what he meant to say was that the Red Sox were getting ready to smother another offseason.
It’s unsettling to consider how far they currently are from the postseason, let alone fourth place in the American League East. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a Japanese ace, was given priority by the Dodgers under new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, only to watch him never really take them seriously before accepting two meetings with the Yankees and Mets and signing a $325 million contract with them—a move we probably ought to have made a month ago.
As a result, the Red Sox are now without their top target and must contend with fierce competition to get the other top pitching prospects. Several sources claim that they have backup plans.
It’s unsettling to consider how far they currently are from the postseason, let alone fourth place in the American League East. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a Japanese ace, was given priority by the Dodgers under new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, only to watch him never really take them seriously before accepting two meetings with the Yankees and Mets and signing a $325 million contract with them—a move we probably ought to have made a month ago.
As a result, the Red Sox are now without their top target and must contend with fierce competition to get the other top pitching prospects. They are prepared to change course since, according to several sources, they have backup plans after Yamamoto, but time will tell if this is significant.
This is due to the fact that intentions do not always translate into actions.
Much attention has been paid to Boston’s $1 million free agency expenditure thus far, which is 1,000 times less than the Dodgers’ commitments to Shohei Ohtani and Yamamoto this month. However, in actuality, that figure is negative because outfielder Alex Verdugo was due approximately $9 million in arbitration, which is now off the books as a result of his trade to the Yankees.
The Red Sox ought to have left Chaim Bloom in the big chair if they intended to continue cutting money. Though there’s still time for Breslow to be audacious and aggressive, the shot clock is running down and he’s having trouble managing the offense.Most likely, the next two weeks will provide all the information we require regarding the impending
No one with experience desired Breslow’s job, which should worry someone on Jersey Street, and it should raise red flags that Boston is no longer a genuine destination for elite free agents.
Regardless of how “all in” they were prepared to go against Yamamoto, their effort was only worthy of a parenthesis in the “others receiving votes” column. They’re an afterthought, and for a company that was once fixated on the brand’s strength, they’re essentially standing by while it deteriorates in front of us.
You’d be right if you’re feeling a little gloomy as the new year approaches! With limited time, the Red Sox have a lot of work ahead of them. Now is the time to save their winter.