Red Sox front office continues to deflect blame amid growing criticism

Red Sox front office offers new criticisms of former tars

Red Sox chairman Tom Werner and CEO Sam Kennedy were at spring training on Sunday. After an offseason that started with hope for a power bat and ended with a pivot to pitching and defense, there were plenty of questions about the roster. That included the hindsight that comes with losing Devers and Bregman.

Werner didn't hold back on Devers, making it clear that the move was because of how he approached refusing to return to the field from DH.

“I don’t like to speak ill of any player," Werner said, via Tyler Milliken. "I’d like to say that he’s a wonderful person…But, of course, when we had an injury at first base, his unwillingness to play that position was extremely discouraging…It was a discouraging episode…Just pick up a glove.”

The Red Sox fanbase is divided to some extent on Devers. Certainly, some agree that he was acting selfishly. Others feel that the team wasn't honest with him and was in the wrong. Regardless, it's clear that they didn't get enough in return for the star slugger and to still be talking about it only serves to further distract from the team.

Bregman is a more complicated situation. He seemingly wanted to stay in Boston, but was demanding both a long-term extension and security in that extension. In other words, a no-trade clause. The Red Sox don't give those out, and he ended up with the Chicago Cubs instead.

Kennedy addressed that, putting the blame on Bregman.

"If Alex Bregman wanted to be here, ultimately, he'd be here," he said, via Milliken.

The Red Sox are losing trust from fans

In a vacuum, both moves can be justified. Devers may not have been good for the locker room, which he should've been as the highest-paid player. Bregman could have been asking for more than his value. The problem is that the team failed to replace them, even in the aggregate. 

After that, the front office promised a big offseason, which is becoming an annual tradition, but it failed to deliver a power hitter. That's becoming an annual tradition, too. 

Red Sox fans simply can't trust what executives like Werner and Kennedy say, because too often it goes against their actions. All of this while they continue to talk about players who aren't with the team, allowing them to become long-term distractions.

This ownership group, Fenway Sports Group, has a history of success. That includes four World Series wins. So, they should know better than to keep falling into these traps publicly. It makes fans forget the championships.