It’s no secret to Red Sox Nation that the last few years have been frustrating. It’s not just the losses on the field that have fans shaking their heads—it’s the front office dance of deception that’s leaving the Fenway faithful in a state of bewilderment.
Boston Wants a Winner – And Winning Costs Money
First, let’s give credit where credit is due. The current ownership group, Fenway Sports Group, has delivered titles to the city of Boston. Fenway Sports Group purchased the Red Sox from The Yawkey Trust in 2002. Just two years later, the Red Sox broke an 86-year championship drought by sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals and hoisting the World Series Trophy for the first time since 1918. Their next title came much quicker as the Red Sox once again swept the final series in 2007, this time over the Colorado Rockies, for their second title in four seasons. Fenway Sports Group would help deliver titles again in 2013 and 2018. An impressive total of four World Series Championships since their takeover in 2002.
But the current state of Red Sox Nation is down. Many feel like the ownership group as a whole is satisfied with putting out teams that barely compete for a playoff spot, never mind a World Series title. In each of those four historic title runs, the Red Sox were top four in total payroll in Major League Baseball.
- 2004 – 2nd highest payroll in MLB
- 2007 – 2nd highest payroll in MLB
- 2013 – 4th highest payroll in MLB
- 2018 – 1st in total payroll in MLB
After being first in MLB in payroll again in 2019, the Red Sox dropped to 18th in payroll in 2020. In both 2021 and 2022, the Red Sox came in at sixth in MLB payroll. And in 2023, the Red Sox dropped to tenth in total payroll in the MLB. This would be rather acceptable if the ownership group wasn’t presenting a different game plan to their fans with public soundbites while they pump money into their other holdings and sports franchises. But the numbers don’t lie, ownership isn’t spending to win a title.
The Numbers Don’t Add Up For The Red Sox
Almost a year ago today, the Red Sox hosted their first “Winter Weekend” since before COVID-19 for fans to attend in person. The event took place at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Mass. The purpose is for paying fans to have access to players from multiple levels of the organization, as well as the highest executives from the ownership group, in a “town hall” style event. The event slipped off the rails early, as the Red Sox ownership group was greeted with a plethora of repeated boos from the obviously frustrated Red Sox faithful.
The pinnacle of frustration arrived when Red Sox principal owner John Henry tackled the prickly issue of why Boston’s ticket prices soared to some of the highest in baseball while their payroll barely cracked the top ten. Henry kicked off with the riveting statement, “Baseball players are expensive,” only to be met with a chorus of boos. The tumult was justified. In 2023, Red Sox tickets claimed the bronze for MLB’s highest prices, yet their payroll slipped to a modest tenth. It’s worth noting that the Red Sox raked in the third-highest revenue that year, countering the notion that astronomical ticket prices are solely due to Fenway Park’s limited capacity.
Remember when John Henry told a room full of Sox fans that high payrolls = high ticket prices?
— Colin Lynch (@CLynchtweets) December 22, 2023
Red Sox currently have the 11th highest payroll in MLB.
Red Sox have the 3rd highest ticket prices behind the Yankees and Dodgers.
Dodgers just spent $1B
pic.twitter.com/DLnPyen0gt
Words vs. Action
That brings us to the 2023 offseason, as the Red Sox changed the Director of Baseball Operations, giving some fans a glimmer of optimism. Craig Breslow replaced Chaim Bloom, and Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner was quick to express his excitement for the direction of the organization. At a press conference introducing Breslow, Werner made some comments that excited Red Sox Nation as diehard and casual fans prepared for an off-season with a plethora of high-caliber free agents available that could change the trajectory of the roster.
“We know that we have to be competitive next year, – we’re going to be competitive next year. We’re going to have to be full throttle in every possible way.” – Tom Werner, Red Sox Chairman
– Tom Werner, Red Sox Chairman
The one big problem with that is we’re a few weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training, and the Red Sox have not even sniffed full throttle. If anything, they’ve barely made it to second gear. And new Director of Baseball Ops, Craig Breslow, is now dealing with the reality of Werner’s unfulfilled promise. Breslow courageously isn’t shying away from the noise, but he is painting a picture of a team trying to build from within, with anything but a win-now mentality. A newly revealed organizational plan that looks like anything but “full throttle.”
Had a conversation with Craig Breslow today. Story coming soon on @BGlobeSports.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) January 16, 2024
For now, here was his answer when I asked him if he still believed ownership was committed to competing at the highest level: pic.twitter.com/JfBcNUpCMT
Pointless Dishonesty Is Frustrating
There is absolutely no problem with building a franchise through organizational strength with a strong farm system that stockpiles supreme talent, all ready to make their Major League Debut around the same timeframe. We’re seeing it right now from the Orioles. The Blue Jays did it with the core of their current roster. And the Rays have been doing it for years. But why did Tom Werner paint a different picture? What was the point of gassing up Red Sox fans? And why are we shifting to a small to mid-market organizational mentality while talking like a major market player?
The Red Sox faithful know this team isn’t lightyears away from competing. The Sox needed to address second base (they did that), they needed to add another legit right-handed hitter, still waiting, and they needed to add starting pitching depth and preferably an ace that would allow young Brayan Bello to be a formidable #2 starter. The Lucas Giolito addition is a good start. I’m more bullish on him than most. But if that is the big move of the off-season, then the Red Sox front office never even saw a throttle.
What’s most frustrating is that Breslow’s comments give off the perception that it’s either too difficult or unreasonable to build an organization’s farm system and keep it intact while also bolstering your current MLB roster so that it actually competes inside the toughest division in baseball. He says he wants to pair “quality with consistent,” but consistently not competing for a playoff spot can’t possibly be the way to go until the youngsters reach the bigs.
The Future vs. Now For The Red Sox
The core of minor leaguers that could potentially impact the MLB roster for the Red Sox is as good as we’ve seen since Theo Epstein was the General Manager. Marcelo Mayer was the best position player on the board in the 2021 MLB draft, in my opinion, and the Sox were very lucky to get him at #4 as he could have easily been selected #1 overall. Roman Anthony is ranked #2 on the Red Sox prospects list behind Mayer and is a 6’3 OF with silly bat speed and pure raw power. He finished 2023 in AA Portland, where he had a 1.020 OPS and hit .343 with a bomb in 44 plate appearances. His 2024 minor league campaign is something many Sox fans can be excited to track.
And Kyle Teel has a chance to be the best-hitting catcher the Red Sox have seen since Jason Varitek. Teel has hit everywhere he’s been, from the ACC, where he was player of the year at Virginia and batted over .400, to his first year in the minors, where he hit .363 across three levels of MiLB, reaching AA Portland in his first minor league season.
.@BaseballPro has put out their list of the Top 101 prospects in the game. Here’s where the Red Sox stand:
— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) January 16, 2024
8. Roman Anthony
32. Marcelo Mayer
47. Kyle Teel
59. Ceddanne Rafaela
Miguel Bleis was on their list of 10 prospects right outside their Top 101. pic.twitter.com/Al6dslZeUk
Having this quality of players in the pipeline is exciting. But are we really supposed to dwindle at the bottom of the AL East while we wait until 2025 or 2026 for this group to arrive and join the other young core of MLB-level talent already in Boston? How is that fair to the current roster? How has the organizational mentality shifted this much?
Red Sox Execs Have Tipped Their Hand
One conclusion from all of this is crystal clear. Chaim Bloom had no chance of surviving as the Red Sox Director of Baseball Operations. Bloom did what was asked of him, shed payroll, and the Red Sox brass tossed him under the bus. The Breslow comments are deafening. We want to build a winner, but not right now. While being patient makes sense, acting like the current roster isn’t a piece or two away from being a pest in the AL East is extremely frustrating.
Watching the Red Sox fade at the trade deadline in 2023 was infuriating. Not because they had a World Series roster, but because they didn’t need to make a crazy move to help that clubhouse improve and reach the playoffs. Instead, they did nothing at the deadline. At the time of the 2023 trade deadline, the Sox sat 2.5 games out of a playoff spot. By the end of the season, they were 11 games out of a wild card spot. That clubhouse deserved better. And Sox fans did as well. If one or two moves get the Sox into the postseason, and it gets Triston Casas playoff at-bats and Brayan Bello playoff innings, isn’t that reason enough to do something? How valuable would that be when they’re leading the next playoff run?
The Red Sox game plan for every trade deadline pic.twitter.com/pWayfQkKZQ
— Boston Diehards (@Boston_Diehards) August 1, 2023
Try Honesty And Be Available
If Red Sox execs want to wait until the future core arrives, and do very little until then, say that. Be honest. Don’t rev up the fan base at the hiring of a new Director of Baseball Ops just for the fun of it. And try some accountability while you’re at it.
Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner spent the better part of an interview walking back his “full throttle” comments as the Red Sox have mostly sat idle this off-season. “Full throttle” has now turned into “pressing all levers,” which is so ridiculous that it’s actually laugh-out-loud funny when you consider how stupid that sounds.
New on the site: @Sean_McAdam asked Tom Werner to clarify what he meant by 'full throttle.'
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) January 16, 2024
“Maybe that wasn’t the most artful way of saying what I wanted to say,” Werner said, “which is that we’re going to be pressing all levers to improve the team."https://t.co/YzqUtLAHnq
When it comes to hearing out the grievances of Red Sox fans regarding the off-season, John Henry’s calendar mysteriously booked up during the 2024 Winter Weekend in order to avoid the inevitable repeat of the 2023 Winter Weekend.
Also from @Sean_McAdam, a source told him that John Henry wasn’t expected to attend Winter Weekend because of a “scheduling issue.”
— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) January 16, 2024
Sad to hear something else popped-up with the entire fanbase begging for some transparency and answers.
Spare me. pic.twitter.com/YarBVGMx5s
Perhaps Henry is too busy trying to set coaching salary records in the English Premier League for the coach of the Fenway Sports Group-owned Liverpool squad. Henry signed Jurgen Klopp to an extension at Liverpool, making him the highest-paid manager in team history and the second-highest-paid manager in the EPL. Or maybe he has more meetings with Euro soccer star Kylian Mbappe to try to make him the highest-paid soccer player in the world. Either way, just stop telling Red Sox fans that you’re chasing championships when every action since 2019 suggests the opposite. Also, consider lowering ticket prices to that of a team with a payroll out of the top 10 who isn’t interested in chasing the post-season. Maybe then you could attend your own team’s fan fest.
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Follow more content from Colin Lynch by following him on Twitter. More MLB content from Belly Up Sports is available here: MLB – and other MLB articles. Featured image credit to Getty Images.
