The Boston Red Sox have had one of the more unique offseasons across the majors. While they have been busy adding players via the trade market, they have been painfully quiet in free agency. The result is a team that many folks don’t believe is better than the one that just got eliminated in the wild-card round of the playoffs last year.
Perhaps one of the most glaring missteps from the Red Sox this offseason saw them lose All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman to the Chicago Cubs in free agency. Unsurprisingly, Boston has been bashed for missing out on Bregman, but the team’s president, Sam Kennedy, flipped the script and opted to take a shot at his former third baseman when discussing his departure.
Sam Kennedy Calls Out Alex Bregman’s Decision to Leave the Red Sox
Despite being one of the big-market teams in MLB, the Red Sox have become one of the cheapest teams in recent years. In the past year alone, the team traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in what was largely viewed as a salary dump, and then lost his supposed replacement, Bregman, because they weren’t willing to give him what he wanted in free agency.
Last offseason, it seemed like things were changing for Boston, as it signed Bregman to a three-year, $120 million contract. However, the deal included a pair of player options for Bregman, and after he enjoyed a strong season with the Sox (.273 BA, 18 HR, 62 RBI, .821 OPS), he opted to test the waters of free agency for the second year in a row.
This time around, Bregman got a five-year, $175 million contract from the Cubs, which dealt the Red Sox’s lineup a huge blow, especially after the team missed out on Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso earlier in free agency. Kennedy knows that he and the rest of Boston’s front office have taken a beating in the public eye recently, but he tried to flip the tables and put the blame on Bregman when discussing his decision to leave Boston this offseason.
“Look, if Alex Bregman wanted to be here, ultimately he’d be here,” Kennedy said when asked about Bregman’s decision to leave in free agency.
Red Sox Adjusting to Life Without Alex Bregman
GettyThe Chicago Cubs signed Alex Bregman to a lucrative new contract.
Kennedy’s “woe is me” act isn’t going to work all that well with Red Sox fans, largely because this isn’t the first time this has happened. In the past few years, the team has lost guys like Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Devers, and now Bregman because of their unwillingness to do what it takes to keep them in town. That’s not on the players; that’s on the team for not stepping up to the plate when they are called upon.
Boston still has a roster full of talent, but its lineup lacks a true power threat who can hit home runs at a high level. Bregman admittedly isn’t exactly that sort of player, but he had proven his worth to the team already in 2025. Instead, the team decided to let him leave, and despite what Kennedy wants to believe, the Sox have nobody to blame but themselves for Bregman’s offseason departure.
Red Sox President Sam Kennedy Sends Blunt Message on Alex Bregman