Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy addressed members of the media (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive) on Monday, alongside manager Alex Cora. The primary topic of discussion was the team’s search for a new general manager, after chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was fired in September.
Kennedy made it clear that he is actively seeking a new GM, and he hopes to begin interviews in the coming days. That said, he isn’t working under a deadline. In other words, the team might not have a new head baseball executive when free agency begins, or even by the start of the Winter Meetings in December. That could prohibit the Red Sox from making an early splash this offseason, but it doesn’t mean Kennedy is wrong to take things slow. The team is surely hoping to choose a new baseball operations leader who will stick around longer than a few years and lead the team to repeated success. Suffice it to say, that’s not a decision to make lightly.
The Red Sox will consider both internal and external candidates for the position, Kennedy explained. Internal options could include assistant GMs Eddie Romero, Raquel Ferreira, and Michael Groopman, who are helping to oversee baseball operations in the interim. However, don’t expect Cora or former GM Brian O’Halloran to step into the role. Cora has already expressed that he doesn’t feel ready for such a promotion, while O’Halloran, who served as GM under Bloom, has already accepted a new job as executive vice president of baseball operations.
As for external candidates, Cotillo suggests that Phillies GM Sam Fuld and Dodgers senior vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes are in the conversation, as are Diamondbacks assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye, Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes, Blue Jays vice president of baseball strategy (and former Astros GM) James Click, and Twins GM Thad Levine. Meanwhile, one external candidate to rule out is Theo Epstein. He is a popular choice amongst fans, but Kennedy has already shut down any speculation about a reunion with the former Red Sox GM.
All Kennedy would say on Monday was that he has a “targeted list” of candidates, and he is currently seeking permission from other clubs to interview some of their front office personnel.
In other news from the press conference, Cora told reporters that the Red Sox coaching staff is the area of the team that needs to make the biggest improvement entering next season. Kennedy didn’t have much to reveal about potential turnover on the coaching staff, other than to say that conversations on that subject will occur in due time.
Theo needs to go to Cleveland and complete the trifecta
I think Theo is eyeing the commissioner job.
He’s got some investors and wants to buy an expansion franchise.
Ah, he wants to be part of an expansion team ownership group. I figured he was done being a POBO or GM for another team. Appreciate the information Samuel.
If they take this search pats the winter meetings it’s a mistake. They need to be super proactive and attack the off-season. If they blow a third consecutive offseason and subsequent season they will lose all faith the the fan base has left.
Exactly. It’s been several seasons of reacting to pieces coming off the board instead of getting the pieces that actually solve problems, while creating opportunities.
Example: I never expected Story to play short for the Sox. I expected him to be the final answer at second after so many years of having a statistical black hole there. That meant the opportunity was a resigning of Xander, or a glove man that can maybe hit a bit. Instead we have the same situation we have had since Dustin got hurt.
William – You are 100% correct about Bloom’s approach. He always allowed other teams to get first dibs on free agents, because he figured he would get a “deal” on whatever is left. Only at the very end, with Martin and Jansen, did he change that approach after getting hammered for his awful 2022 bullpen construction.
If you leave after 3 years of no playoffs, are you truly a fan? I mean really.
No one said leave have less faith. I have every right to withhold buying tickets and merch for a team that does not care try. To do anything else would be well stupid….
The new GM needs to fully commit to either a rebuild or go all in. Starting with firing Cora. Bloom never committed to a philosophy and it got him last place.. Not to many sox fans I know of thought this team had any chance of winning a championship this year.
Bloom did the job he was paid to do, and did it very well! The problem is, he wasn’t paid to win games and make the playoffs. He was paid to completely rebuild the farm system and be the bad guy that drew most of the fan’s ire. Ownership did not want to spend the money in trying to win while they were rebuilding so Bloom was hired as the guy to take the brunt of the abuse. If they stay within the organization for the next GM hire, then expect more of the same. The ONLY way this team gets back to respectability is if they look outside of the organization, Sam Fuld, James Click, and Josh Byrnes are my Top 3 choices.
Kevin 23 – Nobody is that delusional of Bloom’s role and his actions..
1 – paid to completely rebuild the top farm system? You mean one of the top farm systems in baseball for the previous 10 years? That farm system? The one that just recently produced Casas, Duran and Houck without any help from the guy hired to fix it!!!
Why would anyone need to rebuild something not broken. He did more damage than good to the farm system.
2 – Ownership did NOT want to spend the money while rebuilding?
Two-fold mistake in your comment.
First, the ownership never denied any money to Bloom.
Second, the team was a championship caliber team that was in it’s prime. Who rebuilds a team in their prime? An idiot named Bloom.
3 – I would have an easier time considering your top choices for the new GM if your previous comments hadn’t been so incredibly inaccurate.
I will agree that outside the organization is a must but the single most important trait of the new GM must be that he possess a history of being a successful large market GM.. Without that level of experience we are wasting our time. It would be just as bad as the terrible internal options. We don’t want another yes man like Bloom who never ran a real organization. I bet you have as many rings as TB who got eliminated once again today!!
We need a Dombrowski type guy. We threw him away along with Mookie and the rest of the Championship team in the last 4 years. It’s hard to predict what a group of owners with schizophrenia might do next but it’s likely to be the wrong thing if recent history repeats itself!!
It’d be great if Red Sox ownership didn’t deem beneath them addressing the team’s fan base.
(The last time John Henry and Tom Werner took questions during a press conference: February 17th, 2020.)
Correct they have a general disdain for the fans….
came – That is quite correct, I vividly remember John Henry’s arrogant reactions to questions that were asked by fans during this year’s Winter Weekend. He has become quite out of touch with the fanbase.
Hands off Sig Mejdal, please.
How about Curt Schilling!
Lol
Too soon, man. 🙁
He knew how to win when he pitched, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he built a winning team.
Let’s hope he would do better as a gm than he did as a video game distributor. Yowzers
Now that you got me on
Actually think that experience would serve him well as a GM. “This is how you take the money and run”
I kinda wish we had Cherington back. He was a good middle man in philosophy compared to DD and Bloom.
After all, he pulled off one of the best trades in 2012, which helped us by subtraction than addition. But he knew how to add pieces too.
I’m probably in the minority, but it would be nice to someone who is neither conservative or an overspender.
We? Who is we? You’re a Yankees fan….or a pretender! : -)
I’m a Sox fan. I just felt like using Judge as my pic and name. I know, I probably look like a troll. But it’s more or less a joke.
Judgement Day – Help me understand why you think DD was an over spender? He never spent over the CAP. He inherited from the guy you are suggesting is middle of the road. So lets review the facts:
OVER SPENDERS – Cherington and Bloom
NOT OVER SPENDER – Dombrowski
Successful GMs – Dombrowski and Cherington
NOT Successful GM – Bloom
We actually need a guy just like Dombrowski because he had several key traits we need in the GM.
1 – He didn’t take crap from ownership
2 – He spent to the CAP limit but not over
3 – He evaluated available talent and successfully filled holes
4 – He used over-rated prospects to fill holes
The annoying part about getting a next GM is that he is starting with the worst team of any recent GM.
Bloom had a championship team when he started.
Dombrowski had a championship team missing Papi when he started.
The new GM has a crap team but some excellent prospects from DD.
In many ways, the circle of life in the Red Sox organization has once again returned to a time when prospects with high upsides are becoming available just like when Bogaerts made the majors and Betts and others followed.
The new GM has a few poorly planned players who can’t play defense but he also has talent coming up from the minors that is MLB ready which will save money and he has a lot of money to get free agent pitching.
Which bad defenders need to go?
Either Devers or Yoshida. Only one can be DH the other must go.
There is no room for Turner unless he plays 3B.
No need to keep Verdugo since he’s an expensive controlled player who is only slightly above league average.
SO THE KEEPERS ARE:
Wong (C), Casas (1B), Valdez (2B), Story (SS), Rafaela (RF), Duran (CF), Devers (DH), Sale (SP1), Bello (SP3) Houck (SP4) Crawford (SP5),Pivetta (Long Relief)
Martin (short relief) Jansen (closer) and any other controllable player making under $1MM with a Free Agency date of 2030!!
That means Yoshida needs to be traded along with Verdugo to get a new 3B. Two top of the rotation pitchers need to be purchased with the big pile of money that will be available.
This team can compete for the division in 2024 if the choices are smart ones by the new GM and Cora is gone.,
@ Troll. Absolutely great post, man..
Allow me to modify your roster, bro.
1b Casas
2b Story
ss Rafaela
3b Dalbec
Lf Yoshi
CF Duran
Rf Abreu
Dh Devers
I would keep Verdugo and Yoshi until the ASB and trade them by deadline. Dugies attitude is a cancer, but this will be his audition year foe his fist FA. He will produce, and if not, his value can not get nuch worse. He should be worth more at the deadline.
Yoshi isn’t as horrible playing the monster, especially for his first year, and he can hit. He should be hitting 2nd or 8th. Further evaluation on him need I think..
Position players are set. If you bring one in, it needs to be 3B, moving Dalbec to the bench. Reevaluate him at the break also.
We need two real starters to be added, but they don’t need to be aces, just somebody who can go 175 innings. 2 upgrades in the pen. Give the young guns until July to figure out what we have.. there is a lot of promise in that group, time for them to prove it.
Don’t over spend in the off season. Evaluate and spend at the deadline.
Strip down the FO… Pobo to oversee ops of entire organization, MLB, mile, international. GM goes to him/her for approval of big money.
Gm leads team, manager answers to GM, not other way around. manager leads the coaches and players.
Most i.portant of all…FIRE CORA!!!
“@ Troll. Absolutely great post, man..”
AHAHAHAHAHA.
Good one. I thought you were serious for a minute!
My bad. I didn’t mean to look at DD as an overspender, just someone who spends more than Bloom, so I’m sorry if I made it sound that way
Judgement – Two separate issues:
1 – Total money spent
2 – Average price of a player acquired
Bloom far out spent DD in the first category but because he only got cheap guys it appeared to many as if he was not a big spender but he was a huge spender!!! Think about the fact that the CAP moved up $30MM in 2022 and Bloom exceeded the higher cap to finish 5th in the division.
DD spent more on quality players than Bloom. That’s what a successful GM does. He find elite quality players and brings them to his team for fair market value so they want to stay and he bumps the talent level significantly.
On the other hand, you have Bloom. Jansen, Story and Yoshida were his big spends during his 4 years yet he spent over the limit and near the limit after it was raised by $30MM. Bloom bought cheap a lot and got next to no talent for all the cheap contracts. That’s how a 108 win team becomes a sub .500 team.
There are lots of misconceptions about DD’s spending so I try to put the facts out there so people can see, he’s not an over spender, he’s a spender of money for quality players but with an understanding of where the CAP is and how to stay under it.
DBH – Love the suggested tweaks because it shows how much you believe in Rafaela and Abreu. I have a few issues with your suggestions. I hope you don’t mind me pointing them out.
1 – Dalbec can’t play 3B. His defensive and offensive skills are more suited for being the bench Corner Infielder giving the starters a breather occasionally.
2 – If Rafaela plays SS until Mayer arrives then I would move Story to 3B not 2B because it fills the hole when Devers goes to DH.
3 – Yoshida can’t play defense so he needs to go. I would offer him to the Cardinals for Arenado and I would throw in Verdugo. With Arenado Story can go to 2B OR SS and Rafaela can play his long term position in RF. I like Rafaela in RF, Duran in CF and Anthony in LF as the outfield of the future. Abreu can hold the spot in LF until Anthony is ready but long-term Anthony has far more upside potential than Abreu.
Three suggestions that could turn this team to a 100 win team if they get two top of the rotation SPs with all the extra money they have after clearing out all Bloom’s dumpster dives.
The Cardinals might like the deal because Ysohida is an ideal DH and Jordan Walker is their 3B of the future so he could return to his natural position.
What an exciting 2024 it would be if the infield was
Wong, Casas, Valdez, Story and Arenado and the outfield was
Abreu, Duran and Rafaela!!
That line-up is talented, only Arenado and Story are expensive and it has more speed than we’ve seen in years. It also plays defense light years better than the last four teams under Bloom.
@Troll. Playing Story at SS is a risk for 2 reasons. 1st, he is just returning from TJ surgery. Why put added strain… especially when you will be 2, play8ng him out of position.
Dalbec is a 1B/3B. Is he gold glove at 3rd? No. But he isnt bad either. He is a big step up from Devers.
RAF: playing at 2nd is out of position again, he plays short and OF.
Think we had enough of the out of position deal at Fenway.
Like I said, Yoshi and Doogie have almost NO trade value right now. Gotta keep them until the break until the break if you want a decent return, or take a big lose on value.
Mayer, won’t see him until 2025. The injury set him back a little. Might see him has a Sept call up, though. Can’t slot him in yet.
Agree with you on the line up. Best bunch since the killer Bs
DBH – Let me start with YOU would be a big defensive step up from Devers at 3B!!! hahaha
I have followed Dalbec closely over the years and his defense was better than Devers but not as good as league average. That’s a smaller problem than Devers but still a problem. I love the kid and I have rooted for him since he came up after they crapped all over Chavis another guy who should have got a shot at playing 3B..
Story or Rafaela at SS works for me but I prefer Story because Rafaela has the potential to be the next Mookie in RF. Add Duran in CF and Anthony in LF and I can’t wait for them all to arrive. If Mayer takes to 2026 we are fine with Story at SS until then. Remember, Yorke is the heir apparent at 2B so the real issue always comes back to 3B.
An excellent long-term solution is needed at that position and the person must be a defender and a power hitter. That’s why I like Arenado. I also know him because my son’s roommate played at the same high school and has talked at length about Arenado the person and he would be a great help in the clubhouse.
Yoshi has no trade value? Why not? He has his ethnicity that can be exploited in some markets. He has his OBP that can be exploited with some teams needing a DH. I think you are underselling Yoshi’s baseball value. Verdugo is a throw in.
As I look around baseball at 3Bs to target Arenado jumps out because they have an excellent young replacement. The Mets have Baty and Veintos but both are butchers on defense. Jared Triolo in Pittsburgh looks like a good fit from a defensive and offensive standpoint. He’s 26 years old in 2024 and has played behind Ke’Bryan Hayes in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh also has Mitch Keller who will become expensive in 2026 so they might be willing to part with him for a couple of young prospects. Maybe we could offer Bleiss and Gonzalez (Red Sox Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year) for Mitch Keller and Triolo. Those are the types of deals we expected from Bloom that never happened.
Matt Chapman, yet another team mate of my son’s roommate, is a stellar defender and an inconsistent hitter. He’s a FA with an $18MM estimated salary for 2024. Swapping Yoshi’s money for Chapman would be awesome.
Boston desperately needs a LT solution at 3B. Who would you target in a trade since free agency only provides Chapman?
Also, do you know Edouard Julien from the Twins. He’s log jammed as a 2B and he might be better than Yorke. I sure hope our next GM has people coming up with trade ideas like I’ve suggested because that’s how the boys who worked for Bloom in TB keep the pipeline full. This Julien has the talent and proved it for a short while this season. Maybe they could use Verdugo? haha Can’t fault a guy for trying!!
If you’re not going to give a lot of reign to him/her it mind as well be Pinocchio….
I’m available
Oscar – If you run on a platform of firing Cora I’d vote for you!!
They wanted me but I told them I wanted the same offer Billy Beane got.
I don’t envy anyone they bring in. You have about 5 years of shelf life regardless whether you win it all or not.
You are 3 quality starters, a second baseman, an outfielder, and 1 quality lefty reliever short, assuming they move the bullpen arms back into the bullpen where they belong. That is also assuming the people they get for those weak spots are good. Not journeymen, not has beens, not reclamations, not cross your fingers mid tier prospects, etc. Quality solutions.
No one believes the Sox can pull that off with this free agent crop. I think under their approach the last few years, I don’t think they would plug half those problems with quality players even if management opened the purse to do it. They are simply slow to the punch, and too reactive.
I do think there will be improvement, but I think that will mostly come from what is currently under control. Casas, Duran, Bello, etc. I am almost certain what the end result will be will be 1 quality starter, 1 mediocre one, having at least 1 to 2 bullpen arms masquerading as starters, a taxed bullpen with exposed middle inning work, and perhaps (cross your finger) 1 good bat brought in. I don’t think we will land the second baseman, the good lefty reliever, or the improved bat in the outfield. I think it will be a mostly patchwork roster that we have seen over the last years with no real strengths, but some blatant holes.
William – I think it’s impossible to guess if there will be improvement next year until we find out who will be in the front office and how much they will be spending this offseason. if for instance they win the bidding on Yamamoto, yes without question the team will be better.
It’s fairly easy to project, because there is no secret what is needed, and what is available in free agency. We are aware of the attitude concerning prospects, and who on the team is sacrificial in trades.
There are no answers in free agency in the field unless we are willing to break the bank. We are not. That leaves the second tier, and it isn’t good. So that means patchwork signings, again.
The pitching market has multiple answers, but it is split in two categories. Guys that are truly upgrades that will cost a fortune, and guys that are simply heart beats eating innings. Does anyone see us landing 3 high talent starters and a top tier lefty reliever? The answer is simple. No. It does not matter who is in charge. Pick a name, any name, and we are not getting the solutions to all our glaring weaknesses.
What about trades? Glad I asked myself. We have those sacrificial mid-tier players, we are stacked on low-tier replacement level talent, then there are top prospects, and our list of what internally are known to be AAAA, and AAA players if they pan out. We are not going to get rid of more than 1 top prospect, period. I doubt we trade any. So, who are we trading for if we aren’t willing to trade the top guys, and we have to pad trades with eating money and losing our mid-tier guys of the roster? Nothing elite for certain. Nothing that anyone would consider a foundational player either, unless they are prospects, and we get lucky. My point again is, you can see it before it happens already based on what is out there, and what we have.
Keep in mind, If we are eating money on trades, it will have to be a lot of money, because we simply do not have the talent on the roster for an even trade for a major upgrade. Every penny we do eat takes away money from the quality starters, and quality lefty reliever. We aren’t exactly far away from the cap with a bad team. You still need a major league second baseman (finally) and you need to figure out a way to improve either defensively, which means moving people, or it means sticking with bad defense and opting for big bats. The big bats cost money. Big money on a bat, means we aren’t getting those 4 pitchers, which means we have to either move our fake bullpen starters back into that role, or settle for mediocre patchwork starters again, while simultaneously removing arms we need in the pen to make it respectable. We can’t have another bad 6 inning cap rotation again, and a bullpen that can’t get outs from the 6th to 8th and burn out the rest. It was such a predictable disaster last year.
If you disagree with my points let me know, but I think nearly everyone will see what I am talking about immediately after you see the roster, the minors, the free agent list, and our outlay for money. I said I think we will be better (there is nothing but up, or stagnant when you are a last place team); I just do not see a way of making this a playoff team without breaking the bank being willing to spend huge on pitchers and trading top prospects for real major league talent to finally solve our worst and most blatant issues.
William – As I mentioned in a different response, this team could be a contender if the new GM is like DD rather than Bloom. We have lots of money rolling off the books and our biggest issue to me besides the need for two SPs is the defense. Moving Devers to DH solves our biggest problem and trading solves the second biggest defensive problem.
If Devers goes to DH then Turner is not resigned. If Yoshida is expendable as well as Verdugo, then you have two respected players to get a deal done. My suggestion is to take on money by trading Yoshida’s $18MM for Arenado’s $25.5MM. Verdugo was oaid $6.3MM in his second year of arbitration so together the two salaries are close to Arenado’s.
Why would STL want to do the deal? Their young star 3B was forced to play OF and if they do the deal they get to move him back to the infield, add a DH with a high OBP and a replacement OFer in his last year prior to free agency so the money doesn’t have to go forward for STL after 2024 for Verdugo.
Currently Boston has committed to $146MM in payroll and this trade doesn’t change that much. That means going after Yamamoto and Snell or some other top flight pitcher with $90MM to spend is very realistic. This team with two starters plus Bello, Houck, Crawford plus Sale if he’s healthy would be a formidable pitching staff. Jansen, Martin, Winckowski plus Whitlock and Pivetta gives them long relief a stress inning guy and only two slots to fill in the bullpen.
This team could turn on a dime if the right POBO/HOBO gets selected. If the wrong one gets selected, especially an internal one, it’s a guaranteed five years more of suffering for the fans.
It’s realistic for us on paper, but that scenario dictates two major things. Other teams let us out bid ourselves at where their price tag will be to fight other teams off and the Cardinals are willing to take two slightly above average players for a perennial gold glove all-star.
Pitching is needed by nearly every team. Yamamoto is going to cost a lot, and I think he is a priority due to not having to lose players to acquire. Every team knows this. If you think we overspent to land Yoshida, hold onto your socks for this one. I like Snell, but I hate watching him pitch. He runs so many deep counts and walks too many. He would be adding yet another 6 inning pitcher for an incredibly high price tag. I wouldn’t complain, but I highly doubt this management gets both, maybe not even one.
Nearly any reliable good pitcher is a massive upgrade to this team. My realistic outlook is one big splash starter, a lower tier starter, and draining the bullpen to fill out the rotation. I think they will sign up to two mediocre relievers and scrap heap the rest to fill it out. If they make a move for a good hitter, if any, it will most likely be via trade like you outlined. I just don’t see us getting a top notch all around player without losing a top prospect in the deal. I do expect a signing of at least 2 lower tier major leaguers either on the way down or off their teams, a bunch of platoon players for the team and minor league stash types. We have been watching Devers butcher third long enough to see they want him there. I think it’s probably 4 years overdue already. If they do what I expect we should be out of last. If they do what you said we would be fighting for a playoff spot, and I would die of a heart attack.
William – I totally agree with you on the big splash starter and lower tier starter. Also need a top notch lefty reliever.
Begin the season with Sale, Bello and Pivetta filling out the rotation. First guy who gets injured or struggles, replace them with Crawford. Second guy who gets injured or struggles, replace them with Houck.
I’m fine with Jansen, Martin, Bernardino, Winck and Whitlock. Trade Schreiber as I believe last year was an anomaly.
There’s your 13 pitchers to start the season.
OF of Yoshida, Duran and Rafaela/Abreu/Ref.
IF of Devers, Story, Casas and Valdez/Rafaela/Reyes
I’m fine with the two catchers for now.
Turner re-signs for 2 years, or sign an OF/DH with a big bat
There’s your 13 position players to start the season.
William – I recognize what I have suggested is not likely to happen but I wanted fans to OPEN UP THEIR MINDS to the reality of the payroll that is available in 2024 despite Bloom’s albatross contracts.
If there is a chance Ohtani would want to come to Boston then they can bid $50MM without batting an eye. NYY can’t, TOR can’t, TB won’t, BAL won’t, HOU has at least $30MM more committed payroll than Boston so they could but they would be out of money, LAD can dump Lynn and Muncy to compete for Ohtani against us, Tgere are NO BIG SPENDING teams that are in better shape than Boston to go after Ohtani or Yamamoto or anyone else we want.
We cam gp the route Fever is suggesting which is far more conservative and the talent level will reflect the money spent. That won’t turn things around immediately. That will makes us more comparable to TOR but we need to be as good or better than HOU, LAD, BAL and ATL to have a chance at winning another ring. Thinking small has become a disease in Boston since DD left.
It’s time to think big once again and return to spending big bucks for big talent. Yes, there will be misses and injuries but in the end it’s the talent level of the team that wins games. It’s the cohesiveness of the clubhouse that wins games and Cora destroys that so HE MUST GO. It’s the intelligent combination of baseball experience and baseball technology that will improve the organization across all levels.
It’s time for a return to a winning culture for the Red Sox.
I always like reading your posts btw. Your usually very even handed, and not emotional over being rational. The key is not sacrificing the pen for the rotation. If we are pulling from a fairly middle of the road pen we are in big trouble again. You need the rotation approach to be that Bello and Sale must not be assumed to be aces. Whoever we land must be a guy we feel is a top of the rotation arm, or at the least two guys that are, at minimum, considered a 2 or 3 type guy. The idea is to protect the pen, hopefully add at least one legit lefty to it, and pray that whoever we add to the rotation allows us to have positive or comparable match ups to the other teams starters.
Having a staff of 5 to 6 innings guys is a disaster waiting to happen again. Every arm we pull out of the pen into the rotation just adds another 5 to 6 inning guy while forcing the pen to add another barely passable guy. The workloads the last few years have decimated the pen down the stretch.
I have stated this many times, but it needs repeating. Fenway makes lineups look better than they are. Our lineup does not scare anyone, and that lineup projection is the same one that came in last, again. We haven’t had a legit second baseman other than Story since Dustin got hurt. We haven’t had consistent thunder through the lineup since 2019. I don’t expect them to be able to address that with this free agent class, but we need a big power season out of Casas, an uptick from at least a couple more and an added bat that can not only hit home runs, but also be a consistent threat to make hard contact and move runners.
Our fielding is ugly. My optimal move to address a few things at once is a slick fielding shortstop than can hit a little, Story to second to solve that black hole, A legit glove at third with power, and the final realization that Devers and fans sitting behind first base are safer with him at DH, spot starting at 1st, and GULP third. We cannot hide Yoshida. I would deal any combination of outfielders and any combination of our gaggle of utility players for whatever upgrade we can snag, assuming they won’t trade legit prospects.
My guess, and a reach for this management, would be acquiring Yamamoto, Montgomery, and trade for the lefty (we aren’t getting Hader or Chapman). Any upgrade in the outfield will most likely have to be a power right-handed bat through a trade or signing Teoscar/ resigning Duvall (I think a healthy Duvall is still an above average glove and streaky but dangerous bat). I look at these moves as just to make us competitive. We are probably spending at or over the cap just for those additions. I think we are in the 145 million range atm. We would have to fill the rest from within. I think we have to take a look at Rafaela at second. If he can handle it, he has far more value there then in right field. We already have a platoon situation in right. I like Turner, but if he wants a bigger 2 year, I wouldn’t bite. I would rather use that money towards the staff or spend more and get an everyday solution in the field to upgrade something, somewhere.
Although it doesn’t sound outrageous, it is still unlikely. Ownership has to believe we stand a chance, and I firmly believe they haven’t in at least 3 years based on the in-season deadline moves, and lack of solving the most blatant problems in the off season.
Fever – First of all
EVERY BASEBALL FAN ON THIS SITE SHOULD CLICK ON YOUR LINK ABOUT THE ASTROS AND CORA!!!! WOW…. OUTSTANDING!!!!.
Thank you for providing it. Just as an FYI, it’s noteworthy that Fay Vincent got ousted by Selig who stepped down as the Milwaukee owner to take the Commissioner job and bring the juiced baseball to the game after the 1994 strike. It happened because Vincent like Kennisaw Mountain Landis believed the fairness of the game needs to be decided by an impartial person not someone reporting to the owners.
Your 13 players to start the season is more of the same from the last 4 years. I don’t see what you are suggesting as a team that is much more than .500. Sorry but you can’t have Yoshida and Devers on defense if you want to compete for a Division Title. At best you are hoping for WC3 and that’s it.
Fix the future now. Drop the unnecessary guys and find better new ones.
You can’t have a bad defensive 3B and LF with a SS returning from an injured arm as the left side of your defense. If you move Rafaela to SS that helps a bit but it’s still a huge problem. LF, 3B and 2B must be fixed.
The Starting Staff has no SP1 unless Sale returns to 2017 form in 2024. It has no SP2 and adding a lower tier starter doesn’t fix that hole. Bello, Houck and Crawford are nice bottom of the rotation guys with Whitlock and Pivetta being available in a pinch.
The team needs a Nate Eovaldi (wait we had him and gave him away and he just got Texas into the second round of the playoffs) If you consider him a second tier SP I would disagree with you but I could live with that level of a second tier SP as a player to be acquired.
The thing is we probably have no chance of drawing Ohtani to Boston so that leaves several guys comparable to Eovaldi available in free agency. There are only two Tier 1 SPs on the market in my opinion and that’s Ohtani and Yamamoto. Granted we don’t know how he will translate to MLB baseball but he’s young and has skills so if it takes a year to get acclimated that’s ok.
Here is the 26 man roster with my perception of what spots are critical
C – Wong”s 80 OPS+ says we need a new young catcher with skills
1B – Casas – Strength of the team
2B – TBD – Inconsequential player who must be an excellent defender
SS – Story – Fine placeholder for Mayer
3B – TBD – Single most critical add needed on offense
LF – Abreu – Excellent placeholder until Anthony arrives
CF – Duran – Like Casas – a strength of the team
RF – Rafaela – A strength of the team
DH – Devers – Big uplift in defense finally moving him out of the field
Utility C – Wong’s role once a starter is found
Utility MI – Several candidates including Urias, Chang and Valdez
Utility CI – IF Turner ops in at $10.8MM then he’s the man
Utility OF – Pablo Reyes for now until something better can be found
13 offensive players not including Yoshida, Verdugo and hopefully Turner opts for more money elsewhere. If Devers could be dealt for Arenado then Yoshida stays as DH which would be great. I like Yoshida. He got a good deal considering his skill set but he’s the type of hitter that when placed correctly in the 2 hole could create lots of runs for an already strong offense.
PItching
SP1 – TBD
SP2 – TBD
SP3 – Bello
SP4 – Houck
SP5 – Cutter
SP6 – Sale (If healthy and pitching well he can slot into the SP2)
CL – Jansen
R late relievers – Martin and Winckowski
L Late reliever – TBD and Bernardino
Long Reief – Pivetta
Stress Inning – Whitlock
What are the needs?
C- Either a young starting catcher to play ahead of Wong or a back-up
Corner Infield – New 3B
Middle Infield – New 2B
Outfield – NONE – Need to trade both Yoshida and Verdugo
Starting Pitching – SP1 and SP2
Relief Pitching – A lefty set-up man
The key is to unload a DH and Verdugo for a 3B or a SP1/SP2.
$90MM is a lot of money available to fill the holes above!!
Thanks! It would be great if they make a movie about the scandal, like they did with Eight Men Out. Yeah Vincent was the last true commissioner, after him it’s just puppets controlled by the owners who are trying to maximize revenue for the owners.
I’m being realistic with Devers at 3B, there’s zero chance of him moving next season. I do think they will eventually try him out at 1B, Casas would get a good return if they traded him. But for next year the Sox should make one final effort to improve Raffy’s defense. In all fairness to him, the manager and coaching staff obviously haven’t made Raffy’s defense a top priority as they should, hopefully next year they will.
I had several changes in my lineup suggestions:
Dump Dugie, Joely, Schreiber, Kluber,Duvall and maybe Turner
Bring in a big splash starting pitcher, a #3 starting pitcher, a stud lefty reliever, and a big bat OF/DH if Turner isn’t re-signed.
The offense wasn’t bad, 5th in the league in OPS despite Casas hitting for just 3 months and Duran missing significant time. It’s the pitching and defense that were awful. My above suggestions would rectify the pitching, and the defense would improve with a full season of Story and Rafaela.
I just don’t see the need to trade players with value for a 2B, not with Rafaela & Story plus Yorke and/or Mayer likely getting called up at some point next year. Not unless you’re thinking of trading Story within a year, which I wouldn’t be opposed to.
William – Loved your commentary on what is needed. The reason I suggest Snell is that Texas has an excellent GM and they will resign Montgomery otherwise I would take him over Snell. Less money and more consistent.
Getting an outfield bat makes the team better in 2024 BUT I would put it as a low priority because Duran is showing signs of a big plateau jump, Abreu was a very welcome surprise, Duvall is an ideal 4th outfielder and I believe Rafaela in 2 years will be the face of the franchise in right field. My pecking order for actions to be taken by the new GM are:
1 – Move Devers to DH
2 – Trade Yoshida and Verdugo for a quality 3B or an excellent SP or lefty set-up man. Freeing up Yoshida’s $18MM helps acquire other needs.
3 – FInd a long term solution for 3B. Whether by trade or paying Chapman, this team needs a good fielding 3B to help the pitching staff.
4 – Two high quality SPs with at least 1 being left handed. We have the money to get ANY two we want including Ohtani if he will come.
5 – A lefty set-up man for the bullpen. A counterpart to Martin who sets up Jansen in the 9th.
6 – A quality fielding 2B that will bridge to Yorke.
7 – Turner can opt in and if he does I would trade him since he only has 1 year and he’s a valuable asset. If he could play 140 games at 3B I’d play him there but he can’t. He has value and might get you a catcher upgrade to go with Wong as the back-up.
There are a lot of enticing OFers that we could trade for but with Rafaela, Duran and Anthony (Abreu until Anthony is ready), think of the millions of dollars that can be used on pitching, 3B and 2B to fix the current issues. I love T Hernandez and I think a guy like B Reynolds would fit nicely in Boston too. But Duran, Rafaela and Abreu are controlled until 2030 and if Anthony comes up in 2024 he’s controlled to 2031!! That’s a lot of years with very little money spent on the OF yet quality players would be filling the slots including the depth.
Bloom never did his job properly. The role of the GM is to present trades and moves to the board (ownership) for approval. Ownership never limited what Bloom did, Bloom limited it by not asking. The lack of deadline moves are not on ownership, they are on Bloom. He had a faulty strategy and it completely backfired. His system for acquiring talent proved to be ineffective. He was over his head and the team has been slowly drowning since he got rid of Mookie at the owner’s request. I’m sure he signed on knowing he had to cut Mookie so we can cut him slack on that move but everything else was on him. The 8 extra months that Sale waited before getting TJ surgery really destroyed the Bloom years since he was the only quality pitcher other than Eovaldi.
By the way, I really enjoy your comments. I like that you provide an entire set of thoughts on each subject you write about. I come to this site to read your comments along with several other key contributors who articulate their beliefs about the Red Sox organization including both issues and positives.
Fever – I hope you are wrong about Devers not moving. I have researched his defense in great detail and at age 16 he was a butcher at the Dominican Republic Baseball Academy. He was a butcher throughout all his years in the minors and he’s been a butcher since he arrived in the majors in 2017 which is 7 seasons ago!!! Over 10 years of sucking at 3B and you think he just needs a little more work?
One word – INSANITY.
“Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”
Devers will NEVER improve he will only get worse as his age and weight grow. His footwork is horrible, his arm is inaccurate and his baseball acumen related to which grounders to pursue is horrific. He cost Bogey for years when it comes to the modern metrics. Bogey almost never got credit for balls hit to his right since Devers would rush to get it, then misplay it and no error was levied since the score keeper was asked not to and they justified it by saying he had to go too far for it to be an error. In the meantime, the pitchers ERA and WHIP went up and Bogey lost an opportunity to increase his range thus lowering his defensive metrics.
If the Red Sox want to win going forward some team mate must make the ultimate sacrifice and steal all of Devers gloves and burn them. Then the equipment manager must change his phone number and NOBODY is allowed to lend him a glove (as if that would help!! hahaha). That’s the only way for this team to be successful going forward. I he doesn’t like it, dump his …. and find a real 3B. His bat is replaceable for the money they are paying him. Giving his contract to another team would be addition through subtraction. The $30MM could bring so much more talent than Devers provides if used wisely. Just because Bloom couldn’t make wise moves it’s not fair to assume the new guy won’t know how to make wise moves, unless of course the new person is an internal choice.
We often agree but when it comes to Devers defense, I am an unmovable object having studied his decade of bad play. He needs to pretend he is actually part of a team and get off Planet Devers and realize what’s best for his team to win. If he can’t, I see no need to keep him. Send him to the Padres where you have lots of individual stars and no team.
I think the Red Sox see a Boggs in Devers. Boggs was horrendous till he eventually became a gold glover through hard work. The problem I see with Devers is that the bad habits he has are still there despite professional fielding coaches. Not everyone can be an excellent glove, but anyone can work on getting rid of the habits that guarantee you can never be an excellent glove. His inconsistency in throwing mechanics and footwork is his bad habit. I know he works hard, but what should be muscle memory at this point still devolves during games.
So Kennedy’s solution to having too many bosses is to add another layer by basicly creating an assistant POBO and making Cora VP of ownership decisions.
I never would have thought the day would come where ai actually begin to HATE Fenway Sports Group.
Henry and his lot can go ‘eff themselves.
So what is the organizational structure in Boston? My understanding is, from top to bottom, Kennedy (President), O’Halloran (executive VP of baseball operations), then a GM to be named later, Did I miss any? Why would any of the external candidates listed in this article want to take a job where you are number three (if not lower) in the hierarchy of baseball decisions, especially with the likes of Cora and Varitek whispering in the shadows?
So honest question: where does an “executive vice president of baseball operations” fall in the pecking order?
Is he the boss?
Is this more of an honorary title?
Will the GM be the primary decision maker or will it be O’Halloran?
This seems like a convoluted power structure to have in place for a fresh start. Especially with a manager who apparently has influence with ownership above and beyond what the incoming GM may have.
You’re going to have this pecking order, unless they add more:
The actual FSG head honchos up top. Henry being largest stakeholder.
Then you get Kennedy as team president.
Then you get the new PBO.
Then you get O’Halloran as VPBO.
Then you get the new GM.
Then you get whoever remains of the existing 3 AGMs if one is elevated, and even then, they may add more.
Then you’ve got Cora dipping his fingers in the pie in places he doesn’t belong outside of manager.
The article doesn’t mention a new POBO. Shouldn’t they hire that position first and maybe let him pick his GM?
GASox – Great summary, that’s as close as we will ever get to a Red Sox Org Chart.
Maybe someday they’ll get smart and swap the S for a P as head honcho.
What I wonder is how come the Red Sox insist the new head of baseball ops keep the manager as well as much of the existing front office leadership? The new person should be allowed to put his/her own team in place. We saw that with the Mets, who gave Showalter the boot at Stearns request so he could put his own person in the dugout to partner with. Why hire a head of baseball ops when he can’t name his own people? This approach didn’t work well with Bloom, so why repeat that same process?
Rob – You are absolutely right. The team is dysfunctional and it starts at the top.
Fever, do you remember the days when some fans said the problems started and ended with Lucchino and ‘his meddling’ and as he was pushed into the PawSox world things would get simpler and clarity would come to the executive/front office world?
GASox – I am glad I’m not the only one here who knows Lucky received a lot of unfair criticism..
One thing about him, he valued experience. He knew that it was fine to break in inexperienced young talent, as long as you surround them with people who have experience. Henry doesn’t seem to realize that, at least since Dombrowski left.
Don;
Under Henry the roles and responsibilities are never really clear.
Brian Sabean.
seriously – why this love for Cora? Sox have underperformed and lots here were picking the sox to make the wild card at least. instead we get a bag of richards last place team.
Good question….why the Cora love?
mark – Knowing John Henry, it could be a diversity thing with Cora.
It’s what any fan should’ve expected out of the bloom/Cora combo.
Some of us said there was no chance the sox would make the post season, combination of bloom being in charge (and never willingness invest to ‘go for it’) and the mismatched roster full of holes that went through the season without a competent infield, and a pitching situation with more gambling then Las Vegas.
James Click is my guy
So what about Cora? I think he needs to go and any person from outside the organization that wants the GM job will want to cook their own chicken. If Cora is staying then the gm is gonna be from with in the organization, With how this team played this year I feel like the GM needs to come from outside the monster and Cora needs to go.
Writing is on the wall here
Cora already retained as manager
No new GM of any measure is going to come in without autonomy to select his own manager
BOH accepted a lesser position
It’s going to be in house
Romero or Ferreira. Probably the latter, Good optics for Henry/the Globe.
Not only is Cora retained as manager, but the new POBO will have an executive vice POBO that he has not chosen. POBO candidates will be expected to lead an organization they have not chosen and succeed quickly or be fired. Red Sox ownership will probably pay the new POBO very well, but I’m not sure this will look like a good job to take. All the people that have been there longer than the new POBO will have more pull with ownership.
This reply was for RobM.
suit – You are absolutely correct. It’s like someone said about being asked to make a meal, but not being allowed to do the grocery shopping. If I’m gonna go to war, I want to have a say in who I bring with me.
I am confused. I thought Brian O’Halloran was the Red Sox GM and Bloom was the POBO.
The situation in Boston is a mess because the owners are playing with the titles they are giving people. Normally, the HOBO or head of baseball operations reports to the President who reports to the board. That’s in a simple world. Boston has more executive vice presidents than Bloom had dumpster dives!!!
Go to the MLB website and see the 10 pages of Executive Vice Presidents.
Let’s look at what matters:
1 – HOBO (Bloom’s old job) also known as POBO (president of baseball operations)
This person is SUPPOSED to be in charge of all baseball operations. If you hire a Dombrowski type guy, he makes all the decisions and presents them to the Club President and the Board to get financial approval. He builds his own staff that he trusts because his success is measured by wins and losses so he finds the best possible support staff to fill the positions of consequence:
1 – Manager
2 – Head of Analytics
3 – Head of Scouting
4 – Coaching staff
Boston has many figurehead positions that are titles much like in a bank. Glamorous, vague titles which allows the organization to pay them executive salaries despite their minor roles in the organization. Loyalty is rewarded with these types of positions.
The three useless executives that handled the interim period between Dombrowski when was fired and Bloom was hired are all Executive Vice Presidents of specific areas. These are figurehead jobs for loyal people with no talent. They proved their lack of talent when they sat on Sale’s TJ surgery rather than insisting he do it before the 2019 season was completed so he would return by the START of 2022 not the end of 2022. Their indecision on the topic hurt the team and that was multiplied when Bloom came in and sat on his hands until finally having Sale get TJ surgery after COVID hit. It was about 8 months too late and it cost Boston many wins during the Bloom era.
The new POBO or HOBO if you prefer needs to be a strong baseball person who will take the decision making away from the ownership and fulfill the traditional role of presenting all changes to the board for approval rather than having ownership tell him what to do like they did with Bloom. To hire another Bloom will mean another half decade of losing. To hire another DD means an immediate turn around and success in 2024.
The new POBO/HOBO needs to immediately fire Cora and the entire coaching staff and start fresh with people that are trusted by the new HOBO. If the new HOBO want’s to hire a real GM with the hands-on knowledge of players and their value like the group in TB who worked for Bloom, then he should do that without interference from ownership.
The Red Sox have a toxic environment and Cora is a big contributor along with his coaching staff.filled with his cronies. Febles was as big a part of the cheating scandal as Cora yet seldom gets mentioned for his role in the cheating. These guys all need to go!!!
Clearly pitching needs to be emphasized so the new POBO needs to find a top notch pitching director who can bring others with him to build a more knowledgeable set of coaches that will help the young pitchers and tell Cora (if he’s not fired) who and when to make pitching changes during games.
If Cora stays he needs the type of promotion that O’Halloran got. He needs to be shelved without any say whatsoever. Since ownership supports creativity with titles make Cora the Executive Vice President of Managing and then bring in a real manager. Whatever Cora has on ownership is big so they probably can’t simply fire him they need to reposition him to where he can’t hurt the team. Think of Cora as Barney Fife and the new POBO as Andy Griffith. The POBO needs to find ways to keep him out of the decision making stream and let him simply talk to the media. I can’t explain why he can mumble things as if he has marbles in mouth and they all nod when he finishes but clearly this is his other skill besides being bilingual. It’s the perfect job for Cora. Maybe he can be Manager Media Liason!!!!
No baseball decisions whatsoever and I don’t care if they don’t fire him!! If he stays as a normal manager, 2024 shouldn’t be much better than the previous 3 years.
Can ownership hire the right POBO and turn things around or will it be more of the same political BS that has cost them four years of competing for the division and a ring?
Lets hope they can.
My dude, you are so far gone it isn’t even worth trying lol
I gave a thumbs up just for “HOBO”. Haha!
EricS – Ahhh another articulate troll. Go to school, learn to read and write and most importantly quit whining because comments aren’t the length of texts..
Many who grew up in the Twitter world can’t read or think beyond 140 characters, you know.
I was thinking on this last night, when I was supposed to be sleeping. If Kennedy, as he states above, is looking for a GM, is he making himself the Hobo-Pobo?
It will explain why he thinks those process will be drawn out… he will need to interview a lot people who say heck no while laughing on the way out of the interview.
100 bucks says the new gm is one of the old AGMs
DBH – I am fine with promoting one of the AGM’s to GM, especially if it’s Raquel. It’s the POBO position that I’d really like to have someone with experience.
DBH – First, I have to comment on Kennedy’s interview. Does he sit with Cora so he looks more intelligent? I was embarrassed for him he seemed as stupid as Cora.
The Executive VPs that are in lofty yet insignificant roles don’t deserve a shot at assistant GM any more than Cora does. The team needs to turn things around not more of the same ineptitude. Raquel is no more qualified to be Assistant GM than O’Halloran or any other shelved executive in the organization. She’s a publicity stunt not a trained baseball professional. If she could handle the job she would have insisted Sale get TJ surgery when she was in charge. She sat on her hands with the other two. The temp assignment showed they are not qualified to be in an important role.
Kennedy has one job to fill. He needs a HOBO/POBO. That person needs to review the ENTIRE staff below him and cut the fat to the bone. Ownership used Bloom to cut out Mookie from the organization, the new POBO may be hired to trim the real excess fat in the front office. I’m probably giving ownership too much credit for being smart business men so maybe it will go as you suggest Fever.
If you read the MLB website for the Boston front office, you need to classify each Senior VP as either active or shelved. Shelved means they have a job until they retire for being a loyal executive through the years. Active means they actually provide a needed service to the organization. I think you’ll find that most are shelved and I consider the three amigos who botched the transition from DD to Bloom to be part of the shelved group. Nice figure heads that are loyal to the owners or they simply represent Boston as a progressive organization that has overcome it’s long history of no diversity. Raquel and others are where they are today to prove how diverse the ownership has become, just like when they hired a bilingual Manager with no experience and no morals.
No quality POBO will come to Boston if the positions reporting to him can’t be changed. DD wouldn’t stand for it and neither would any experienced GM who is worth recruiting.
One thing is for sure, if Boston picks a subservient figurehead POBO to run the show the team won’t be seeing any world series or division championships during that persons reign as GM/POBO.
The fact that Cora still is employed just shows how ****** up this organization is……. Same goes for O’Halloran. How they can be part of the solution moving forward when they were part of the problem that the Organization is currently in is just mind boggling.
Coop – It’s the same thing that unfortunately goes on with many companies, fingerpointing by Cora and others.
Yes Bloom was not a good POBO, but it wasn’t his fault he got stuck with Cora.
Fever – Great point. Neither Bloom nor Dombrowski got to choose Cora he was thrust on them by ownership. Whatever leverage Cora has over someone in ownership it’s huge. You don’t hire a completely unqualified guy for such a key role then fire him for cheating because the Commissioner practically mandates it and then rehire him a year later.as if the two incidents of cheating never happened. There is a huge secret behind Cora’s career since 2018. I hope some day a brilliant reporter uncovers the truth and outs the secret because we need to know why ownership self inflicted so much pain on the fan base.
This has Romero written all over it as getting promoted to fill Bloom’s spot…. because he would accept Cora as manager. Anyone interviewing from the outside would be foolish to accept the job without being able to hire their Managerial choice.
You could be right, Cora could be helping to hide something for ownership in return for job security. Talk about making a deal with the devil. Haha!
Try and get Bellinger and Alonso.
Need more SP and RP. Move on from
Sale. Use that money to get 2 SP. Or a power hitting SS
dopt – Bellinger was great then sucked and had a bounce back year several years later. He’s exactly what you don’t want and the team has lots of great young outfielders and a great young 1B. You are using Bloom logic. You don’t get guys you like and then try to fit the square pegs into the round holes.
Boston needs to improve it’s defense dramatically. Two players can make that happen.
1 – Devers to DH
2 – Yoshida traded for a 3B who can hit and field
Also, Sale can’t be counted on so two top of the rotation guys are needed so Bello, Houck and Crawford can round out the rotation with Pivetta in long relief. Whitlock needs to be the guy who comes in when the starters hit a bumpy inning because he has the skills to leave base runners on base. That simple change will impact the ERAs of the entire starting staff.
Everything else is about quality depth. Use farm system pitchers to bridge from the end of game relievers of Jansen and Martin to Whitlock or Pivetta.
Upgrade the four utility hitters. An upgrade at back-up catcher. An upgrade at back-up middle infielder. An upgrade at back-up corner infielder. And an upgrade at back-up outfielder. 9 hitters with 4 bench hitters representing all positions.
6 SPs with Sale as the iffy 6th SP .plus 7 relievers beginning with Jansen, Martin, Winckowski, Whitlock and Pivetta. This team’s biggest issue is Devers and Yoshida’s defense. By moving one to DH and trading the other the team defense will jump from the bottom of the league to the upper middle section of the league. The hitting is already there and the young players need to continue to improve. The pitching with two top of the rotation guys like Yamamoto and Snell would surpass most of the staffs in the AL East.
Overnight, the bloom disaster can be erased. FYI… Story if healthy is that power hitting SS you want and Mayer will be along in the near future. SS is not a problem area despite losing Bogey if Mayer is all that he is hyped to be..