The primary main acquisition of the Boston Pink Sox offseason is…Theo Epstein?
In accordance with ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the previous Pink Sox normal supervisor who helped break the “Curse of the Bambino” is becoming a member of Fenway Sports activities Group as a senior advisor. Whereas Epstein just isn’t in command of personnel selections, he’s anticipated to “carry enormous weight” in navigating the Pink Sox future.
On one hand, Epstein is aware of the way to construct baseball groups. His two main front-office roles got here with the Boston Pink Sox and Chicago Cubs. In each circumstances, Epstein’s administration helped break championship droughts of 86 years and 71 years, respectively.
Then again, the Epstein transfer is just too little, too late for the 2024 season. After the Pink Sox completed 2023 with their third shedding document in 4 seasons and fired normal supervisor Chaim Bloom, Pink Sox possession committed to a new, more aggressive approach to roster constructing in 2024.
“We know that we have to be competitive next year,” Pink Sox chairman Tom Werner stated through the introductory press convention for chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. “So we’re going to be competitive next year. We’re going to have be full-throttle in every possible way.”
When requested about spending on high-end beginning pitchers in free company, Werner responded: “Let me just say that we don’t have any built-in restrictions.”
That was on Nov. 2, 2023. Three months later to the day, what has “full throttle” gotten the Pink Sox? Their lone pitching acquisition is former Los Angeles Angels beginning pitcher Lucas Giolito. The deal on paper is a two-year, $38.5 million contract, however the 2025 opt-out actually makes it one yr for $18 million.
Past that, Boston has missed out nearly solely on free company. They had been linked as “interested” to gamers like dual-threat phenom Shohei Ohtani and Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Neither manifested. The Pink Sox supplied a short-term contract with extra assured cash to Japanese pitcher Shota Imanaga. He needed a longer-term deal and went with the Cubs’ supply. It’s the identical sample of unserious spending that noticed the Pink Sox commerce Mookie Betts and low-ball Xander Bogaerts.
Because the Pink Sox received their final World Sequence in 2018, the Fenway Sports activities Group has constructed a music corridor amongst different developments inside Fenway, turned a minority shareholder in SpringHill leisure firm, bought the Pittsburgh Penguins, and most lately struck a deal with the PGA.
In different phrases, they aren’t centered on baseball proper now. When The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal was asked if the Pink Sox had been attempting this offseason, his reply was easy: “No.”
So sure, Epstein could also be a person who may also help construct a reliable workforce in the long run, however the hiring this late is the Boston Pink Sox overtly admitting they’re punting on 2024.
