Sam Kennedy explains that the Red Sox have been operating under spending parameters, but their focus is still to develop and extend young players.
The Boston Red Sox badly need starting pitching and one of the top veteran free agents at that position remains unsigned with Spring Training underway.
And yet, the Red Sox reportedly are still unwilling to pull the trigger right now.
WEEI's Rob Bradford reported Friday that the Red Sox are "prioritizing Jordan Montgomery over other potential free agent pitching additions, but still waiting for price to come down."
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The Red Sox didn't make any significant additions to their roster over the offseason. Their payroll is lower than it's been in years past.
Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy admitted to reporters earlier this week that the team has put parameters on how much chief baseball officer Craig Breslow can spend.
"We have set parameters for him and he's operating under those parameters," Kennedy said. "I do not want to talk about specifics related to payroll and parameters because it does nothing to help us competitively.
"Look, I think the focus on spending is fair and reasonable given where we finished the last couple of years. We understand there's frustration. The best way to turn that frustration around is to go out and win baseball games and have the focus be on our team and our players versus where we're spending. There's nothing I can say or do at this point in the offseason that's going to make anybody feel great about what's happened the last two years, so we've turned the page internally and we're moving on to 2024."
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The fact that Montgomery has been in Boston all winter while his wife does a residency at a local Boston hospital, and the Red Sox still haven't signed him, is not a good look for the franchise.
Given the lack of talent on the Red Sox's roster, plus their dire need for a No. 1 or No. 2 starting pitcher, what incentive does Montgomery have to lower his demands? The Red Sox, who are projected by many experts to finish last in the American League East division for the third straight year, probably need Montgomery a lot more than he needs them.
Montgomery went 10-11 with a 3.20 ERA, 166 strikeouts and a 1.19 WHIP in 188 2/3 innings between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers last season.
The Red Sox will have no chance of competing in 2024 unless their pitching significantly improves. Signing a player of Montgomery's caliber, who just played a key role in the Rangers winning their first ever World Series title, would be a good first step.
