Sam Kennedy, Tom Werner talk Red Sox reclaiming relevancy
There wasn't much Craig Breslow could say Thursday at his introductory press conference that would dramatically flip the Red Sox narrative. His presence and messages certainly didn't hurt the team's quest to start regaining the attention and trust of New England fans. But after another last-place finish with the sad trombone of a last impression, words just aren't what they used to be.
This has to be about action.
The looming truth at Fenway Park was that if the fan base had its way, Breslow would have walked in, re-introduced himself, been asked if the Sox were going to try to sign Shohei Ohtani and then heard his response.
While building and building and building to keep up with the talent surge of their American League competitors, the Red Sox need to find players the fan base want to invest their time and money in, while also taking pressure off the perceived built-in pieces of the foundation.
They need to start identifying the big fish in the free agent market and understand it's going to get financially uncomfortable. They need to zero in on players to trade for that will be cornerstone elements of the roster, and also realize the price to get those players will get uneasy.
There doesn't have to be the kind of proclamation Dave Dombrowski made at the 2015 GM Meetings when he said the Red Sox were going to sign an ace starter and trade for a closer just weeks before allocating $217 million for David Price and allocating four prospects to get Craig Kimbrel. But there has to be that mindset.
"You know that we're going to have to be full throttle in every possible way," said Red Sox chairman Tom Werner. He added. "You need great players. It's not about selling the team. It's about having great players. Generally, you need players who have high WAR to be a winner. Raffy Devers is a star that will be with us for a long time, but you need to complement with other talent. One of the great players of this last postseason was (Adolis) Garcia, right? What was he, designated for assignment by two different clubs? I sometimes say that baseball's somewhat confounding, but obviously, when you look back, you need to have stars."
Easier said than done. That brings us back to action, not words.
This can't be another round of close-but-not-quite scenarios such as was the case with the Red Sox' pursuit of pitchers Zach Eflin and Andrew Heaney. If you like the guy, you have to do whatever it takes to get them - especially with the Red Sox' Q-rating being what it currently is.
"We have to do a better job," said Red Sox president Sam Kennedy when talking about convincing players Boston is the place to be. "Good organizations use all their resources and to have a Chief Baseball Officer who has hoisted that trophy is big. To have a World Series-winning manager, someone who has won it in Boston and knows what it takes. Owners who have won and want to get that championship feeling back here. We have to use all of our resources and we have to make sure whoever we are targeting in free agency understand we are about winning."
That is currently easier said than done.
When the Red Sox made up Bruins, Celtics and Patriots jerseys with "Ohtani" on the back in the hope of presenting them to the then-free agent, they didn't even get the opportunity. Ohtani didn't deem Boston a realistic landing spot. And that was a Red Sox team full of potential and stars, with the selling point that the 23-year-old was going to be a perfect replacement for David Ortiz as team icon.
Now, we can talk about Ohtani's relationship with Boston-based New Balance, or his perceived fascination with playing in Fenway Park. But it is hard to imagine that he would entertain what he didn't previously entertain without some significant assurances there wouldn't be a revisiting of the woe-as-us Angels, this time on the East Coast. That, and the kind of financial investment the Red Sox weren't willing to give a player who represents one of the few who are actually worth $400-plus million (Mookie Betts).
You might not get Ohtani, but are you going to put your best financial foot forward. That is the real intrigue here.
And it's not just that one player. It's any of those free agent pitchers that scratch where the Red Sox are itching, particularly 25-year-old Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The ideas and experience presented by Breslow are undeniably intriguing. And all of it has to be part of the equation. But that is the known when it comes to desired approach. What remains a mystery is how this organization plan on going back to becoming the big market Red Sox. The team and place that almost always seemed like the place to be.
Kenley Jansen said it on the "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast in the final week of the regular season. Boston is a place for stars. He's not wrong. Now we're going to find out how the Red Sox plan on finding them.
"Right now it’s a lot of talk. We have had a couple of difficult seasons," Kennedy said. "But we also have been here long enough to know things can turn around relatively quickly. Now, we’re not going to do something totally irresponsible. We’re not going to go out and sign 10 free agents. We’re just not. Are we going to go out there and improve the club and as Bres said with a focus on trade opportunities, being aggressive in that, development opportunities to optimize player performance at the big league levels. Yes, we are going to explore all areas.
"I do think there is a bit of a chip on our shoulder given that we have struggled the last couple of years. I meant it when I said it. If you don’t want to work in Boston in the top job it’s good to know that upfront because this job is not for everybody. This market is not for everybody. It’s for us. It’s for me. I love it here. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in Boston, anywhere else in sports. Craig Breslow knows what it takes and there were many, many people who were interested in this job. We also understand the job is not for everybody and that’s fine. Sort of as a player, you better want to come to Boston. This is the best place in all of baseball because there is nothing like winning here. But the opposite side of that coin is it’s hard to lose here. It sucks to lose here."