It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody who has followed the offseason, but team president Sam Kennedy acknowledged that the team’s payroll would probably drop again this season.
Kennedy said the Sox “obviously didn’t match up” with the high-profile starters on the free-agent market and would remain disciplined with that approach.
“We’re going to let this build of our team sort of dictate what we do as we move forward,” Kennedy said.
How long will that take?
“I don’t think it would be appropriate to offer a timetable on anything at this point,” he said. “I think we need to do the work and let our actions speak louder than our words.”
Meanwhile the Sox continue to charge the highest ticket prices in the league. How do they justify that given the reduction in payroll?
Team chairman Tom Werner took that question, saying he understood fans were frustrated.
“We spend a lot of time trying to figure out ways to bring new fans to the park. We have some tickets that are very affordable for students,” he said.
“We spend a lot of time talking about the experience at Fenway. We think our record is probably the most important thing but there are other things that make going to Fenway a special place.”
So get ready for another season of fans of the visiting team filling up the grandstands in right field and behind third base.
Why pay for good players when a pile of bricks from 1912 sells itself? Fenway has become another stop on the Freedom Trail for tourists at this point. Hey, kids, that’s where Mookie Betts used to play.
Werner also pointed out that the teams with the three highest payrolls last season didn’t make the playoffs.
That’s true. The Mets, Yankees, and Padres all flopped.
But it’s also true the Sox had the highest payroll in the game in 2018, the second highest in 2004 and 2007, and the third highest in 2013. How did that work out?
Texas had the fourth-highest payroll last season. It’s fair to say the Rangers don’t regret signing Nate Eovaldi, Corey Seager, and their other stars after winning the World Series.
All this is not a precursor to selling the team. Werner called the Sox the cornerstone of Fenway Sports Group and said there were no plans to sell. They want to own the team for decades to come.
The crowd at Winter Weekend booed Kennedy when he made an appearance on the stage with new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. But it was not nearly as ferocious as last year.
“You’re Chaim Bloom 2.0!” one leather-lunged audience member shouted at Breslow.
Werner stayed behind the scenes this time. Principal owner John Henry, who also owns the Globe, was not at the event because of a schedule conflict.
For now, there’s a season to play and Breslow said the Sox weren’t finished with the roster.
But unless he can put together a creative trade for a starter, it was made clear Friday night that any additions between now and spring training would likely be lower-tier free agents on short-term contracts. That could require shedding some payroll first.
The Sox have a plan and they’re not budging. But Kennedy said that won’t always be the case. Once the young position players are deemed ready, the payroll will go back up.
“The philosophy has not changed,” he said. “There will be a day when we match up again on a high-profile free agent deal.”
You should hold them to that promise.
Peter Abraham can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @PeteAbe.
