This Red Sox insider says people in organization ‘are genuinely embarrassed’ by lackluster offseason
“I think that there are people in this organization who are genuinely embarrassed by the way the offseason unfolded,” NBC Sports Boston’s John Tomase said.
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The Red Sox’s spring training has been underway for just a handful of days.
People within the organization reportedly aren’t thrilled about how the offseason has gone and what that could mean for the 2024 season.
Referring to feelings of “embarrassment” reportedly being felt by members of the Red Sox organization, not including players, NBC Sports Boston’s John Tomase explained what he’s hearing in Fort Myers, Florida.
“I think that there are people in this organization who are genuinely embarrassed by the way the offseason unfolded, by the product they’re going to be putting on the field this year, by the fact that we’re going into a season kind of knowing that they’re going to finish last,” Tomase said on “Arbella Early Edition” Friday. “I think people are legitimately embarrassed.”
Given a lackluster winter in terms of free agent signings by the Red Sox following chairman Tom Werner’s “full throttle” comments in November, the roster has not necessarily improved compared to 2023.
The only major free agent signing Boston made this offseason was starting pitcher Lucas Giolito. The sides agreed to a two-year, $38.5 million deal that includes a player option after one season.
Giolito slots in as a mid-rotation arm, not as an ace.
The Red Sox traded away the pitcher that manager Alex Cora dubbed the team’s opening day starter for 2024 in September 2023: Chris Sale.
Boston has yet to bring in an external replacement for Sale despite starters Jordan Montgomery and reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell remaining on the market.
“My sense for a while has been that if you left this up to Sam Kennedy and Tom Werner, the Red Sox would have done more this winter,” Tomase said. “John Henry, however, is the principal owner of this team for a reason. To me, this is all coming down on him.”
Some initially thought Fenway Sports Group’s hiring of former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein signaled a positive change to come in terms of the way the Red Sox approached personnel moves. Given the baseball team’s recent hesitancy to spend as much money as they have in previous years, bringing back a key cog of those aggressive Red Sox teams in the 2000s aligned with that notion.
As it turns out, Epstein reportedly won’t be involved in the day-to-day operations and will balance his time spent between other teams under FSG’s wing, such as Liverpool FC and the Pittsburgh Penguins. His return is “an interim stop before his next stop,” according to Kennedy.
“When Craig Breslow comes in and the exact same thing happens (as when Chaim Bloom was CBO), you have to say, ‘Maybe it’s not about the guy in that chair, but the guy who sits above him,” Tomase said. “That’s John Henry. … Until [Henry] changes his mind about what he wants this team to look like, it’s just going to be more of this.”
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