As I sit in my familiar seat in the Fenway Park press box covering the Fenway Bowl (a.k.a the only postseason game we’re going to see at Fenway in 2023… and perhaps 2024?), it feels like a good time to evaluate the position the Red Sox are in at this point of the offseason.
In short, it’s crunch time.
We’re off in the @FenwayBowl.
— Gethin Coolbaugh (@GethinCoolbaugh) December 28, 2023
A.k.a. the only postseason game we’re going to see at @fenwaypark in 2023 (and 2024?)…
CC: @redsox @John_W_Henry @skennedysox #ForBoston #PonyUpDallas #FenwayBowl #RedSox #DirtyWater pic.twitter.com/JrgjgF6GWd
John Henry’s and Tom Werner’s team is losing time to go “full throttle” as promised (which seems at this point to be trending toward an outright lie…), but all hope is not lost. They could still sign Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, a position player or two, and make some trades to beef up their rotation. I personally would have a hard time calling anything the Red Sox do from here on out “full throttle,” but there are options left on the table to salvage a respectable offseason.
Gone are the biggest names of the free-agent bunch, none of which are headed to Boston. Yet some formidable names remain: Snell, Cody Bellinger, Clayton Kershaw, Montgomery, Josh Hader among them.
All criticism of Henry, Werner, Craig Breslow and Sam Kennedy (and anybody else you can think of who has a share of the blame pie) for their relative inaction has been valid to this point. In fairness, though, the full chapter of the team’s 2023-24 offseason has yet to be completely written.
Although we can confidently say it has been a pretty bad read so far…
The good news? @RedSox are no longer in last place… #FenwayBowl #RedSox #DirtyWater pic.twitter.com/yVc0Kgzq2m
— Gethin Coolbaugh (@GethinCoolbaugh) December 28, 2023
These next few weeks will be critical in determining the success and salvageability of this offseason. Once the aforementioned players come off the board, which figures to be sooner than later, the opportunity to make a big splash in free agency will be all but gone.
There’s a chance the market plays out all the way until the beginning of spring training (we did see the Red Sox add a major piece of their last World Series-winning lineup in J.D. Martinez in late February of 2018). Of course, waiting until the last minute to acquire talent would be a foolish plan and one designed to fail…
If (or likely when) the time comes that the Red Sox have completely struck out on the top end of the free agent pool, the focus will shift to the trade market — if indeed the plan is to build the team up for 2024.
Crowd size is about right for a @RedSox game these days too… #DirtyWater #RedSox pic.twitter.com/CYh0TeSsV3
— Gethin Coolbaugh (@GethinCoolbaugh) December 28, 2023
We’ve heard names like Corbin Burnes, Dylan Cease, Edward Cabrera, Emmanuel Clase, Randy Arozarena (highly unlikely to be traded within the division, I’d imagine) among others who are potentially available. Who knows which others players could be plucked out of the grass by an innovative GM — of which designation Breslow has yet to earn despite his “smart guy” billing.
It’s still plausible that the Red Sox will be able to assemble a team that can compete for a playoff spot in 2024. Of course, a World Series contending team feels too far away right now without having added any of the best available talent.
What feels increasingly likely now, however, is the possibility that Breslow and the Red Sox will pivot their attention to the future. Breslow previously gave a politician’s answer on the concept of spending big this offseason when introduced a few months back. He didn’t rule it out, but he didn’t commit to it either.
Now that the Shohei Ohtanis and Yoshinobu Yamamotos of the world are gone, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Breslow shift his focus to the long-term team-building elements that come with the top baseball ops job. Heck, that plan may already be in motion with the limited and minor league-heavy return in the Alex Verdugo trade and the acquisitions of semi-green relief talent like Cooper Criswell and Isaiah Campbell.
Why Werner insisted upon pounding his chest and overpromising at the time of Breslow’s hiring, I don’t know. Has Breslow underperformed by Werner’s and Henry’s standards when given a green light by ownership to spend, spend, spend? Or, more likely, was Werner simply giving the same kind of lip service to the fan base that Kennedy has for the past few seasons as Henry has been MIA?
Is this seriously the player “padding” in the end zone to keep players safe, @FenwayBowl?
— Gethin Coolbaugh (@GethinCoolbaugh) December 28, 2023
If I were @BCFootball and @SMUFB, I would refuse to take the field over that. Injuries waiting to happen…
Guess @John_W_Henry isn’t spending on special events either… #FenwayBowl #RedSox pic.twitter.com/NECzRCr31d
Boston sports fans are smart. You see through the ruses and posturing ownership tries to spoon-feed you rather easily. If the plan was to continue the Chaim Bloom-started rebuild with a tweak in vision at the top with Breslow… well, just say that.
That is, of course, never the popular thing to say — and Henry and Werner know that. Fans wouldn’t be thrilled. That’s why they straddle the fence and try to use smoke and mirrors to make it appear that they are still invested in the product. But you all see right through that.
I guess it’s fitting that one of the teams playing in this Fenway Bowl is Southern Methodist… because the Red Sox sure need a lot of prayers to salvage yet another depressing offseason.