Red Sox President Sam Kennedy: "I Think We’re An Offseason Away"

Sam Kennedy made the second of his yearly appearances on MassLive’s The Fenway Rundown: Boston Red Sox Podcast with Sean McAdam and Chris Cotillo. Typically, Kennedy’s episodes are must-listen as he gives a tiny peek behind the curtains into the organization, and this one was no different. Kennedy gave some typical non-answers, but he usually feels more relaxed in this environment and is comfortable speaking with McAdam and Cotillo. Let’s look at three quotes from Kennedy that stood out to me and what they can mean as we have fully transitioned into the offseason.

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“There is a feeling of missed opportunity, sort of what could have been had we performed better. Especially on the defensive side of the ball if we had stayed healthy.” 

This is a feeling that is shared by most fans as well. Kennedy indicates that the front office realizes that there was a chance to push for a playoff spot this year and that the defensive shortcomings played a large role in the team missing out on another year of playing baseball in October. Although Craig Breslow made some moves at the deadline, it was obvious that a right-handed infield bat would have been the move that probably would have pushed the team into that final playoff spot down the stretch in September. Trevor Story and Vaughn Grissom were still not with the club, and although Ceddanne Rafaela played mostly well at shortstop, there was still a huge hole in the middle of the infield, and adding a piece beyond Danny Jansen was necessary. Had another infield glove been added to the roster, maybe the error total wouldn’t have continued to climb, and the unearned runs from earlier in the season wouldn’t have helped sink the Red Sox as they pushed for the third Wild Card spot.

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“I think we’re an offseason away, I really do. I mean, I really believe we have the ingredients to take a run at this thing next year.”

For maybe the first time in a long time, I agree with Sam Kennedy. This answer was in response to Sean McAdam asking Kennedy, in his opinion, how far the Red Sox are from being where the front office wants them to be. I was surprised this question came as early in the interview as it did and equally as surprised at how quickly Kennedy said they were just an offseason away. With the team still in the mix during September after having two big pieces, Trevor Story and Triston Casas, still on the shelf after early season injuries it was encouraging to think about how close the Sox actually are to playing meaningful baseball all season again. With Roman Anthony, Kyle Teel, and Kristian Campbell all knocking on the door to the majors at the conclusion of the season, it’s not hard to visualize that an offseason of adding pitching and some glove-first infielders would do nothing but push this team over the final hump and into the postseason in 2025.

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“We have three emerging starters in our rotation…We were thin in pitching. We need starting pitching. We need bullpen help.”

Once again, Kennedy and I agree wholeheartedly. While this feels like an obvious answer, I can’t recall anyone from the front office coming out and saying in no uncertain terms that while we had three starters who all took big steps forward the front office seems to realize that the easiest path to the postseason in 2025 is through adding at least one top of the rotation arm during the offseason. Lucas Giolito will be a welcome addition next season after he returns from Tommy John surgery, but shouldn’t be counted on to be the staff's ace. That ace needs to be added either to free agency or, preferably, through the trade market. There are teams that match up well with the Red Sox in terms of trade assets. Seattle seems to be the team most connected to the Red Sox due to their youth pitching movement but other teams would be interested in what the Red Sox have to offer for their young, controllable pitchers.

Sam Kennedy is often viewed as the ‘mouthpiece’ for the front office since John Henry doesn’t do interviews regularly anymore, and the fans tend to hold Kennedy’s feet a little closer to the fire every time he makes an appearance. To his credit, Kennedy seems to take that responsibility in stride and enjoys sitting down for these styles of interviews. Hopefully, these comments will come closer to fruition. Kennedy seems to be a bit more open than he has been in the recent past, so hopefully, the front office has noticed what the team needs and has been listening to a fanbase that has been growing increasingly vocal over the last three seasons.