Maybe we completely misunderstood Tom Werner's “full throttle” quote. Perhaps he meant that the Red Sox were preparing to end another offseason.
It's scary considering how far they currently are from fourth place in the American League East, let alone the playoffs. Under new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, they prioritized top Japanese player Yoshinobu Yamamoto, only to find him never seriously considering them before two meetings with the Yankees and Mets and then with the Dodgers for $325 million signed what we probably should have called last month.
With that, the Red Sox have lost their top target and face stiff competition for the rest of the top pitching market. According to multiple sources, they had contingency arrangements in place after Yamamoto, so they're ready to pivot, but we'll see if it matters.
This is because wanting to do something and actually doing it are not always overlapping outcomes in the Venn diagram. So far, Breslow has plugged some gaps around the edges, but he still has to address his team's three big problems: strengthening a core rotation, upgrading the league's worst defense and improving an offense that suffered a three-game losing streak last year -Performer.
There's been a lot of talk about how Boston has spent just $1 million in free agency so far – or 1,000 times less than the Dodgers committed to Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani this month – but in reality that number is actually negative because outfielders Alex Verdugo was due $9 million in arbitration, which is now invalid following his trade to the Yankees.
If the Red Sox wanted to further reduce payroll, they should have just left Chaim Bloom in the big chair. Breslow is here to be bold and aggressive, and there's still time for that, but the shot clock is ticking and he's having a hard time getting an offense going.
The next two weeks will probably tell us everything we need to know about the upcoming season. If Breslow signs a free agent like left-hander Jordan Montgomery and completes a trade for Brewers Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, we can breathe a sigh of relief and move on with the winter.
But if Montgomery joins the Mets… and Blake Snell signs with the Phillies… and the Yankees decide they like Marcus Stroman's makeup… and the Cubs go for Shota Imanaga… and.. .can you see how this ends when the Red Sox are shut out again and another season is over before it begins.
Despite Werner's announcements, owners don't seem to recognize the danger posed by another inactive offseason. If you spend five years showing your fans what you are, they will eventually believe you, and John Henry feels more comfortable waiting for prospects that may never arrive than striving to build a winner today.
It should worry someone on Jersey Street who no one knew wanted Breslow's job, and it should also raise alarm bells that top free agents no longer view Boston as a serious destination.
No matter how “all in” they were willing to go against Yamamoto, their effort merited no more than a parenthesis in the “Others Who Received Votes” column. They are an afterthought, and for a company once obsessed with the power of the brand, they are very passively watching it fade before our eyes.
If you're feeling a little pessimistic as the new year begins, you're right! The Red Sox have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. It's now time to save their winter.