BOSTON – Urgency was the buzzword as the reeling Red Sox kicked off a six-game homestand on Friday night, looking to shake off a 1-4 road trip to New York and St. Petersburg.
The Sox returned to Fenway with a 27-39 record, marking the first time the club has been 12 games under .500 since the end of the 2020 season.
Even in a watered-down American League in which several clubs have underachieved thus far, the Sox entered Friday six games – and six teams – back in the Wild Card standings. Per FanGraphs, Boston’s current chances of making the playoffs have slimmed to 12.5 percent.
Club president/CEO Sam Kennedy didn’t pull any punches in a radio interview with WEEI on Thursday, when he noted the reality that the team’s poor start might force them to be sellers instead of buyers leading into the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline.
“At the current moment, there are a lot of discussions going on in terms of improvement and how we get this thing back on track, looking at every single area of the roster and player personnel, and [chief baseball officer Craig Breslow] and his team are doing that," Kennedy said. "But look, let's be honest, unless things change dramatically, we may have to pivot here from what our initial planning was. It just wouldn't be responsible to do otherwise."
The Red Sox would need to leapfrog seven teams to be in position to be in the playoffs. This isn’t to say it can’t happen, but time is clearly of the essence for a club that is an MLB-worst 10-21 at home this season.
“Regardless of if Sam said it or not, I think the urgency is there,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said. “We're not playing good enough. [I] don't blame Sam for saying that. I think all baseball players know as the calendar continues to move along, if you don't start to get it right, that always becomes a possibility. So, I don't think there's any specific attention to Sam saying it. I think the guys are very well aware of, regardless of him saying that or not, that we’ve got to play better.”
Many players on the active roster have struggled to maintain consistency. And two of the players who were supposed to be the most impactful – ace Garrett Crochet and outfielder/DH Roman Anthony – have been out for over a month due to injuries.
Were the comments from Kennedy a wake-up call to the clubhouse?
“I don't think that we needed that wake-up call. I think everyone knows the kind of ball that needs to be played, not only at the big league level but here in Boston, especially,” Crochet said. “We went out this offseason and acquired some talent that the team viewed as game changers, that the clubhouse viewed as game changers, and ultimately we haven't played well as a group. There have been moments here and there, and not all the losses are ugly, but they’re still losses, which suck.”
On April 25, the Red Sox dismissed manager Alex Cora and five coaches. The club, 10-17 at the time of the overhaul, is 17-22 since.
“To be honest, things like [Kennedy’s comments] happen, get said,” said Tracy. “He’s not wrong. I just think players and coaches, we push forward. There’s enough things that we have to get ourselves squared away on a day-to-day basis. Things get said, and players, they know that.
“They know when a Trade Deadline is coming. They know if the team is not performing, those things happen. It’s nothing that gets a huge bit of attention there, other than we know we have to play better. It’s that simple. That’s the focus with the guys.”
In his radio interview, Kennedy sounded almost apologetic to Red Sox Nation.
"There's no way to sugarcoat it," Kennedy said. “It's been awful, especially when you consider the stated goal of building upon what happened last season [when the Red Sox made the playoffs for the first time since 2021]. ... It's been incredibly frustrating, and I just want to acknowledge that right at the outset. It's on all of us. We have to get better."
As pointed as Kennedy’s comments were, he said the club isn’t contemplating removing Breslow from his post.
“Look, I fully understand and appreciate questions regarding Craig Breslow and his job security and all that, but the issue of a change there, just to be clear, that's not even on the table," Kennedy said.