Boston Red Sox Executives Continue to Anger Fans with Offseason Comments, Actions
Boston Red Sox fans continue to be angry at ownership and team executives over lack of action this offseason, and that came to a fever pitch on Friday night at the team's "Winter Weekend" event in Springfield, Mass.
Per 'The Athletic:'
For the second consecutive year, boos rained down on Boston Red Sox leadership at the Winter Weekend fan fest Friday night at the Mass Mutual Center.
Amid an underwhelming offseason in which the Red Sox have not spent to upgrade the roster as they suggested they would, fan frustration continues to mount.
Friday, CEO Sam Kennedy and chairman Tom Werner spoke with the media for about 20 minutes before Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow joined Winter Weekend host Jonathan Papelbon on stage, welcomed by a mix of boos and cheers. Despite 4,000 tickets sold for the weekend, the Friday night crowd was noticeably smaller than last year’s version.
The Red Sox have finished last in the American League East in three of the last four years and continue to cut payroll at the Major League level.
Recently, Breslow said the team was focused more on the development of its young players and farm system, which is not what fans want to hear.
The team was outbid for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, didn't really get in the running for Shohei Ohtani and hasn't really gone after Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell, who are still available on the free agent markets.
Kennedy said that team payroll in 2024 will likely be lower than 2023, which is something that fans were hoping would not be the case when Breslow took over.
From Red Sox expert Jared Carrabis on "X"
The Red Sox outright told us they had no payroll restrictions coming into this offseason. That was a lie. Now they are telling us they won’t spend until the top prospects come up, none of which are pitchers. You know, the area they actually need the most help in.
Thusfar this offseason, the team has signed Lucas Giolito and traded for Vaughn Grissom, while trading away Chris Sale. Other than that, they've brought in a bunch of AAAA arms that they will work to develop.
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