When Red Sox chairman Tom Werner infamously declared a "full-throttle" approach to last offseason, he was a man on an island. No one backed him up, and Werner eventually backed down. It was an outlier proclamation ahead of a dreary, lifeless offseason.
This winter has at least rhetorically been very different. CEO Sam Kennedy, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, and manager Alex Cora have all made a point of noting that the Red Sox are open for business. Until they sign a major free agent, fans will remain understandably skeptical, but management hasn't been shy about sharing its plans for a robust offseason.
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The latest evidence came on Tuesday at the MLB owners meetings, where Kennedy spoke to Michael Silverman of The Boston Globe and continued pushing the notion that the Red Sox are willing to spend -- maybe beyond the $241 million luxury tax threshold -- in order to field a World Series contender.
"Even if it takes us over the CBT," Kennedy told Silverman. "Our priority is 90 to 95 wins, and winning the American League East, and winning the division for multiple years."
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The Red Sox have spent the last five years building up their farm system and the big-league product has suffered as a result. They've been hinting since the end of the season that that's going to change this winter, and we're starting to see proof of their intentions.
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The Red Sox have already met with free agent slugger Juan Soto, and it wouldn't be a surprise if they offer him over $600 million to become the new face of the franchise and a potential successor to David Ortiz as a game-changing slugger.
While it's reasonable to question the organization's intentions until it actually acquires a player of note, it's hard to believe the Red Sox would lead us this far down the path of adding to the roster only to peel away at the last minute.
"We are investing more than we did last year," Kennedy told Silverman. "We intend to invest going forward. There is an extreme urgency internally to be competing for the American League East Championship and to set ourselves up for a deep postseason run in 2025 without question. The goal is to win 90 plus games to not be worrying about a wild-card spot."
The Red Sox cannot do that with prospects alone, and they appear to realize it. Kennedy noted that the Red Sox have a host of needs, and it looks like they're ready to spend to address them.
"Look, we have to add, and that's what we're trying to do, but I think we're in a good position to add right now," Kennedy said. "We need more pitching, front of the rotation guys and bullpen. We feel good about our positional core, we really do. A high priority is pitching but everything and anything's on the table for us -- free agency, trades, promotions from the minor leagues.
"In our free agency discussions so far, there has been, I would say, a very strong feeling from agents and players that the Boston Red Sox are going to be a force over the next five to seven years," he added, "given the guys who have already emerged at the big league level and the guys who are coming."
