By Brendan Campbell
Special to Boston Sports Journal
Less than a week removed from holding their season-ending press conference at Fenway Park, the Red Sox find themselves in a not-so-unique position in which they have several questions to answer. For starters, who will lead the club’s baseball operations department moving forward following Chaim Bloom’s firing?
Bloom, who was relieved of his duties as Boston’s chief baseball officer last month, was originally hired in October 2019, before the conclusion of that year’s World Series. That gave Bloom and the rest of his newly constructed front office adequate time to prepare for the annual general manager's meetings, which will be held in Scottsdale, Ariz. from November 7-9 this fall.
With approximately one month to go until then, team president/CEO Sam Kennedy told reporters last Monday that the Red Sox planned on interviewing several candidates, both internal and external, in the coming weeks before arriving at a final decision. Kennedy indicated that the club is “open to both first-time GMs and experienced executives as well as people who do or don’t have experience working for the organization.” It’s also possible that the Red Sox bring in multiple executives to set up a new hierarchy.
“We’re looking for someone who shares the organizational values that I think we’ve come to be known for in our time here,” said Kennedy. “And at the end of the day, that’s understanding that the standards here are incredibly high. Winning games at the major league level and putting yourself in a position to be busy in October is the goal.
“We think that the right leadership will emerge,” he added. “That’s not taking anything away from people that have been here. The organization, as I said a couple weeks ago, is actually in a really good spot as it relates to the future. We don’t have a predetermined set of qualifications, necessarily, that we’re looking for. But we do have a targeted list of individuals that we think we’ll be able to help get us back where we belong in the American League East.”
As of now, the Red Sox have not yet confirmed who they will be interviewing for the opening. Kennedy already ruled out a reunion with former GM Theo Epstein while current manager Alex Cora took his name out of the running at season’s end, citing that he “is not ready to do that.” Another executive with ties to Boston who can be ruled out is Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen, who signed a multi-year extension to remain in Arizona for the foreseeable future this past Wednesday.
Internally, assistant general managers Eddie Romero and Raquel Ferreira represent intriguing possibilities. Externally, Phillies GM Sam Fuld (who interviewed for Boston’s managerial opening in 2020), Marlins GM Kim Ng, Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes, Dodgers senior vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes, Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti, and Athletics general manager David Forst have all been linked to the organization to some degree and can be viewed as possible targets.
“We plan to take our time,” Kennedy said of the interview process. “We plan to be very deliberate. We’re going to have internal candidates, we’re going to have external candidates, we’re going to have a consistent, robust process that hopefully leads us to the right person or people. You’d love to have clarity as soon as possible, but we’re not going to let any deadline or timeline put constraints on the process.”
Ohtani linked to Red Sox
Whoever the Red Sox hire to head their baseball operations department, that individual will undoubtedly be asked at their introductory press conference if they have any plans on pursuing two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani in free agency this winter.
Ohtani, 29, is the favorite to win 2023 American League MVP after batting .304/.412/.654 with a league-leading 44 home runs and 95 RBIs in 135 games for the Angels this season. The right-hander also made 23 starts and went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts to 55 walks over 132 innings of work in which he held opposing hitters to a .184 batting average against.
Even though recent elbow surgery will likely prevent him from pitching at all in 2024, Ohtani is still expected to command a massive contract. With hot stove season looming, The New York Post’s Jon Heyman linked the Red Sox to the three-time All-Star on Thursday.
“Ohtani and the Red Sox are starting to be linked more and more,” Heyman wrote. “One executive with an interested team said he believes they are a real threat.”
As noted by Heyman, Ohtani recently signed a long-term endorsement deal with New Balance, which is headquartered in Brighton, Mass. (a short ride from Fenway Park) earlier this year. Adding on to that, longtime baseball writer Peter Gammons tweeted last month that the Red Sox may have a leg up in the Ohtani sweepstakes if they choose to get involved because of Ohtani’s relationship with New Balance chairman Jim Davis.
Having finished last in the American League East in three of the last four years, Heyman suggested that the Red Sox “need to balance things out” and could accomplish that by going after a coveted free agent such as Ohtani.
Arbitration projections
The Red Sox have five arbitration-eligible players this winter in right-handers Nick Pivetta and John Schreiber, catcher Reese McGuire, infielder Luis Urias, and outfielder Alex Verdugo.
On Friday, MLB Trade Rumors released its annual projected 2024 salaries for all arbitration-eligible players, including the five listed above. Of the five, Pivetta and Verdugo are both entering their final year of arbitration, meaning they are on track to reach free agency at the conclusion of the 2024 season. McGuire and Urias, on the other hand, have an additional year of eligibility remaining while Schreiber is under club control through 2026.
Pivetta is projected to earn $6.9 million (up from $5.35 in 2023), Verdugo is projected to earn $9.2 million (up from $6.3 million), McGuire is projected to earn $1.7 million (up from $1.23 million), Urias is projected to earn $4.7 million (the same amount he earned this year), and Schreiber is projected to earn $1.3 million (up from $750,000 this year).
Several Red Sox reporters, including Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe and Christopher Smith of MassLive.com, have already identified Urias as a potential non-tender candidate. The 26-year-old infielder was acquired from the Brewers at the trade deadline for pitching prospect Bradley Blalock. He batted just .225/.361/.337 with two home runs and 13 RBIs in 32 games (109 plate appearances) with Boston while seeing playing time at second and third base.
Minor League All-Stars
In recent weeks, Minor League Baseball has recognized the top performers from the 2023 season by constructing All-Star teams for all 14 of its affiliated leagues. As part of that process, eight Red Sox prospects were honored across five leagues and four levels.
Outfielder Wilyer Abreu, who made his major-league debut in August, was named an International League All-Star for his work with the Worcester Red Sox. Catcher Nathan Hickey and reliever Luis Guerrero were named Eastern League All-Stars for their work with the Portland Sea Dogs. Righty Isaac Coffey, infielder Blaze Jordan, and outfielder Roman Anthony were named South Atlantic League All-Stars for their work with the Greenville Drive. Finally, outfielder Natanael Yuten was named a Florida Complex League All-Star and infielder Starlyn Nunez was named a Dominican Summer League All-Star.
Of these eight prospects, Anthony is the most highly-touted. The left-handed hitting 19-year-old made it as far as Double-A in his first full professional season and was recognized by the Red Sox as the organization’s 2023 Minor League Offensive Player of the Year. He is currently ranked by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect in Boston’s farm system and the No. 19 prospect in the sport.