The Boston Red Sox brass spent an entire year assuring their fanbase that re-signing Xander Bogaerts was their top priority.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom even went as far as to say that Bogey was their "Plan A."
Bogaerts' agent Scott Boras reportedly disagrees with said assessment entirely.
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"I talked to Scott Boras a couple days ago and he's like 'they were not as aggressive as we expected on Xander Bogaerts but they were super aggressive on (Masataka) Yoshida,' " ESPN's Joon Lee told ITM Podcast's Steve Perrault and Joey Copponi.
Boras represents both players and would know better than anyone how much effort the Red Sox actually put into both pursuits.
Hearing that Bloom and company were "super aggressive" for Yoshida and underwhelmed Boras in their efforts to retain Bogaerts is a massive blow to Red Sox fans.
It sounds as if the year-long promise that Boston would do everything in their power to keep Bogey in a Red Sox uniform lacked both effort and a competitive offer.
The Red Sox have not operated like a large-market team for years, and their charade of acting like one in press conferences is up. The most consistent trend in the Red Sox offseason is discovering the difference between their words and actions.
John Henry is not as invested in the team as he was in the past. Bloom is not going to build a Los Angeles Dodgers-like system by combining an elite farm system with a high payroll.
It would take a massive change in philosophy for the Red Sox to return to the powerhouse they once were -- a team that won four championships in the span of 15 seasons.
The team has the money and could become the perennial championship contender they once were -- all they need is for Henry to start investing in the team that once was the lifeblood of the Fenway Sports Group.
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