Latest Update: Nuggets For Red Sox Upliftment, Henry’s Negligence Destroys
It’s no secret that the Red Sox need to improve their starting rotation if they have any hope of competing in 2024. However, they’ve done little to address that so far, outside of signing Lucas Giolito. Recent comments lead many to believe Giolito may return to form this season as he’s impressed many early in spring training.
Jordan Montgomery has been linked to the Red Sox and would be a welcome sight for a rotation that is very heavy with right-handed pitchers after Boston traded away Chris Sale to Atlanta.
Montgomery is one of many free agents represented by infamous agent Scott Boras still without a job, and that’s likely due to the asking price not being in a comfortable place for teams. Fans and players alike are becoming frustrated by waiting for these top-tier talents to be signed as spring training has just begun.
It would seem like the Red Sox were in a favorable position with the season getting closer and the team favoring Montgomery over other free-agent pitching options available. Unfortunately, it seems like Boston doesn’t like the asking price for the veteran southpaw.
According to Rob Bradford of WEEI, Boston is “prioritizing” Montgomery over the other options available but is “still waiting for the price to come down.” A) Duh. B) Previous reports suggested if Montgomery’s price dropped, he’d be more inclined to sign with a contender.
That isn’t the most encouraging thing to hear especially when the team desperately needs a top arm for their rotation. It seems just like more of the same from the Red Sox, who haven’t been able to land any of the top talent from the 2024 free agency class.
While being conscious of the budget is a good thing because teams never know what they’ll need during the season, it seems like the front office is being overly cautious. If they want to give fans any hope of a competitive season, they need to pull the trigger.
However, given the team wants the price to come down and Boras’ probable unwillingness to budge, that doesn’t give a lot of hope of a deal coming to fruition. We don’t know any details of what Montgomery is looking for at this point, but MLBTradeRumors projected a six-year, $150 million deal while other reports suggested the lefty was looking for Carlos Rodón money ($162 million over six years).
Monty makes a lot of sense for Boston and his career 3.68 ERA over seven seasons will undoubtedly upgrade a lowly Sox rotation.
Ownership is going to have to decide if it’s willing to stretch the budget a bit and give fans any sense of hope that 2024 won’t just be a repeat of last year. Though there’s outside hope that this team could still defy the odds and be competitive despite the lack of additions by the front office, it’s hard to count on that without any tangible evidence that they’ve gotten better on paper.
John Henry avoiding media yet again is becoming disturbing Red Sox trend
Boston Red Sox owner John Henry has been notably absent from a lot of the goings-on regarding his baseball club.
This offseason, he avoided attending Winter Weekend to skirt around pressure from fans, he led a conglomerate of billionaires and companies to purchase upwards of a $3 billion stake in the PGA Tour. And now he’s avoiding media members at spring training.
According to many Sox reporters down in Fort Myers, Henry’s been doing this for quite some time. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo said “the streak continues” after Henry refused to speak to reporters on Feb. 19, the first official full-team workout of spring training.
NBC Sports Boston’s John Thomase reported that Henry speaks to media infrequently, to say the least. He said Henry spoke to reporters just after the Mookie Betts trade and at Winter Weekend 2022 after the unexpected successes of the 2021 ALCS team. Since Jan. 2022, Henry has not spoken to media members
Henry didn’t even speak at his new chief baseball officer’s introductory press conference. According to Matt Vautour of MassLive, Henry arrived 20 minutes after the event began to slip onto the panel midway through the proceedings. When a reporter asked him afterward to speak, Henry walked away without saying a word.
Henry’s reluctance to speak in recent years tells fans all they need to know about where his priorities lie. For years since the Betts trade, as Henry has avoided reporters, the question of whether or not he cares about the Red Sox has been asked repeatedly. In January, the reintroduction of Theo Epstein into the front office confirmed what Henry’s radio silence already said — he, frankly, couldn’t care less.
It’s clear in the way he allows Sam Kennedy to fumble through interviews on his behalf, acting as his human shield, and in the way Tom Werner’s promises to fans haven’t been fulfilled. Henry doesn’t talk to reporters because he knows there’s no defense for how he’s treated the Red Sox, all while misleading fans about the team’s true plans.
Continuing to duck reporters even after all the allegations about him not caring about the state of his club is a poor look for Henry, along with the team he owns. As the man with the final say on all financial decisions, it’s cowardly and embarrassing for Kennedy and Werner to be taking the fall repeatedly for Henry over the last four years. And the heat he’s consistently allowed them to take for his decisions is outright shameful.
If Henry was honest with fans or owned up to his mistakes, there wouldn’t be so much of the pressure from fans and reporters that he feels he so desperately needs to avoid. The vast majority of Boston’s current struggles are entirely self-imposed, and all of the deceptions this offseason could have been avoided had he told the truth.
