It was October 1st, 2024, just days after their third straight .500 season without a playoff appearance, when Alex Cora, Craig Breslow, and Sam Kennedy gathered in front of assembled media to answer questions and plot the Boston Red Sox offseason.
Now, with only two weeks before the club begins spring training in Fort Myers, Florida, that October press conference stands as a stark reminder of the organization’s unfulfilled promises. Even the additions of Walker Buehler and Garret Crochet to the starting rotation can’t mask how little the team accomplished this winter.
Lie #1: Improve Infield Defense
“We need to improve our defense, right? We can point to a defense that was kind of bottom of the league, especially our infield defense.” – Craig Breslow
The Red Sox made just one “significant” Major League infield move and it came yesterday, signing utility man Abraham Toro to a minor league deal with an invitation to camp, while offering him a $1MM bonus if he makes the MLB roster.
Since 2022, Toro has started only 19 games at second base. David Hamilton, while speedy but hardly a force at the plate, committed 10 errors in 94 starts across second and shortstop last season. Vaughn Grissom battled injuries throughout 2024, appearing in just 30 games and hitting a meager .190.
The team’s reluctance to pursue free agents like Alex Bregman suggests they might let 22-year-old prospect Kristian Campbell compete for the job in camp. While Campbell shows promise, he hardly represents the proven solution the team promised in October.
Lie #2: Add a Right-Handed Power Bat
“Our lineup is pretty imbalanced in terms of being left-handed heavy, you know figuring out how to balance that out, how to take advantage of the short left field wall. We saw the effect of a guy like Tyler (O’Neill) as a right-handed power hitter in the middle of the lineup.” – Craig Breslow
Beyond Toro, the Red Sox added only three depth pieces this offseason: catchers Mark Kolozsvary (29) and Seby Zavala (31), plus infielder Nate Eaton (28). While all three bat right-handed, none will replace the 30 home runs Tyler O’Neill hit in 2024 before signing with AL East rival Baltimore.
The Red Sox now pin their hopes on Trevor Story miraculously rediscovering his Colorado form, despite entering his age 31 season without a 20-home run campaign in five years. They also expect left-handed hitting Triston Casas to help fill the power void in the wake of O’Neill’s absence. But Casas missed 93 games after a bat-swinging injury and has a history of frustrating coaches with periods of passivity at the plate.
Lie #3: Sam Kennedy’s Credibility
“It’s time to get back and go for that division title, play baseball in the postseason — that’s why we’re here. That’s literally why the three of us are here. That’s our commitment, to do everything we can. And talk is cheap right now. Words are hollow. But that’s what we’re gonna work on this offseason.” – Sam Kennedy
Boston’s list of sports villains is ten thousand blogs long, and you can safely add Red Sox President Sam Kennedy to that list. Any and all criticism of Kennedy is prefaced by the fact he’s a “nice guy,” a fact which is widely accepted across Boston sports media and business circles.
Kennedy became the President of team in 2015, succeeding the late Larry Lucchino. He later assumed the role of CEO as well in 2017. He’s been with the Red Sox organization in various capacities since 2002 and played a key role in the team’s business operations, fan engagement, and revenue growth.
But Kennedy’s “nice guy” persona ran out of cache a long time. Year after year, he is the public face of the Red Sox’ empty promises, clichés, and platitudes. It is far past the point now where anything he says, in any circumstance, can be even remotely trusted. Kennedy’s appearances on local baseball podcasts and in interviews at team events like Fan Fest only serve as vehicles to sink he and the team’s credibility further into the ground.
An entire generation of Red Sox fans endured 86 years of failure and heartbreak. The difference between then and now was that ownership never promised anything. They were a civic trust, a regional force in an alliance of madness. Those Red Sox are dead and buried.
John W. Henry killed them when he traded Mookie Betts.
Long before “cringe” was everyday parlance, the Red Sox had “Truck Day,” a celebration of the team’s equipment truck loading up at Fenway Park enroute to Fort Myers. A minor league gimmick fit for a minor league town, which makes sense. Boston hasn’t been about baseball in a long time.