MLB insider blasts Red Sox ownership for lackluster offseason, losing Xander Bogaerts

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, who isn’t one to take shots, penned a column blasting the Boston Red Sox for their lackluster offseason and front office scheme.

Ken Rosenthal isn’t alone in how he feels about the Boston ownership group — John Henry and Co. have invested far more into other sports properties than they fave the Red Sox, the team which helped earned them their fortune in the first place.

This offseason alone, Boston’s baseball franchise has been embarrassed by their pursuit to keep shortstop Xander Bogaerts, and were outbid for Zach Eflin and Jose Abreu. While blaming Chaim Bloom is the easy way out, the ownership group who hired the former Tampa Bay Rays front office executive deserve much of that vitriol as well.

Do the Boston Red Sox deserve such heavy criticism?

Rosenthal’s column (subscription required) in its entirety is worth a read, but the nastiest lines come near the end, when the longtime MLB reporter takes no prisoners in his commentary on Boston’s offseason so far:

"“It was ownership that hired Bloom to bring Rays-like efficiency to the Sox, ownership that bears the most responsibility for losing Betts, ownership that failed to go beyond $160 million for Bogaerts and is now on the clock with Devers, who is entering his walk year.Back on Sept. 1, I wrote, “For Sox ownership and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, the coming offseason looms as a turning point, if not a breaking point.” The offseason is still turning. But try to convince anyone who follows this team the Sox aren’t broken.”"

The short answer is that most in the baseball community do feel this way. These are not your father’s Boston Red Sox. Heck, they’re not my Boston Red Sox. This franchise is operating like a mid-market team.

Boston has a middling payroll and roster which doesn’t have much hope for improvement after striking out on much of the top free-agent talent. Losing a homegrown star like Bogaerts makes matters even worse, and provides little inspiration for Rafael Devers, whose contract is expected to be even larger than what the Padres gave his former shortstop teammate.