Red Sox president talks 'difficult' loss of Bogaerts

BOSTON -- Red Sox president/CEO Sam Kennedy grew up roughly a mile away from Fenway Park. The fact that fans are upset about Xander Bogaerts exercising his rights as a free agent and signing an 11-year, $280-million contract with the Padres didn’t catch him off guard.

Kennedy, of all people, can relate to what they are feeling.

But Kennedy, who has spent 21 years working for his hometown team, has seen star players -- even franchise icons -- leave before. And he has watched the Red Sox dust themselves off and rebound from those losses.

He expects a similar result this time.

“Well, first of all, we're incredibly grateful for everything Xander did for us,” Kennedy said from Fenway Park on Tuesday, when the Red Sox introduced new closer Kenley Jansen. “It's really hard when you lose a player like Xander, but it's even harder when you lose a person like Xander. We thank him for everything he's done. It was 2009, I think -- a long time ago that he signed. So it's always hard.

“I go back so long. I think about guys that it was painful to lose: Jon Lester, Johnny Damon, Jacoby Ellsbury, Xander Bogaerts, guys that were just such incredible parts of a championship organization. So it's difficult. That said, we have a job to do making these very difficult decisions. It’s part of the job. It goes with the territory. So we thank him, we wish him well, and he'll have a special place in Red Sox history.”

The next chapter of that history will be judged on how well the Red Sox recover without their former star shortstop and team leader.

“It’s really, really difficult when you lose players that mean so much to you and people that mean so much to you,” Kennedy said. “That's the hardest part of the job. Do you wish you could have homegrown stars from start to finish? Of course you do. But unfortunately, that's not the reality of this business all the time.”

When the Padres extended their offer to 11 years, it erased any chance of Bogaerts returning to Boston. The Red Sox have never signed a player to longer than an eight-year contract.

Could that soon change with Rafael Devers, the team’s slugging third baseman, who is eligible for free agency following the 2023 season?

“We’ve not done an 11-year contract, but we have an obligation to explore any and all avenues to bring more championships to Boston,” Kennedy said. “I realize in this particular case, we were not willing to go to that territory. We own that decision. Any criticism or disappointment that comes with it, we own that.”

Devers is entering his age-26 season. Bogaerts is 30. That difference could lead the Red Sox to go out of their comfort zone and avoid another big PR hit for losing a homegrown stud.

“We’ll keep doing what we need to do, which is making the right decisions,” Kennedy said.

Though overshadowed by the loss of Bogaerts, the Red Sox have been active this offseason, signing relievers Jansen, Joely Rodríguez and Chris Martin. They will soon make official the signing of Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90-million contract that also included a $15.375 million posting fee to the Orix Buffaloes.

The club is still searching for a right-handed-hitting bat, a starting pitcher and perhaps a catcher.

Kennedy understands that those moves aren’t helping his team win the game of public perception.

“I think we need to keep the focus on what’s important and that’s playing baseball in October and winning World Series championships,” said Kennedy. “That’s the most important thing. So we’ll let other people judge and decide if we’re doing things right or wrong. That’s not for us to say; that’s for others. We just have to focus on making what we think are the right decisions for the Red Sox and decisions that will put us in a position to be competitive as soon as possible, hopefully in 2023.”

As Kennedy knows all too well, nothing soothes a fanbase quite like a dramatic improvement in the standings.

“I would say that we’re going to continue to field a team, a complete roster, that is going to be competitive in the American League East. That’s our job, and we have to do that,” said Kennedy. “I know our fans will support us if we do that.”