Red Sox CEO: BOS Will 'Probably' Have Lower Payroll in 2024 Despite Last-Place Finish

Despite finishing last in the American League East in 2023 and three times in the past four years, the Boston Red Sox aren't expecting to make any big free-agent splashes to improve their chances of contending next season.

Speaking to reporters on Friday prior to the team's annual Winter Wonderland event, Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy said their 2024 payroll will "probably" be lower than what it was last year:

"I don't know that for sure. We don't talk about specific payroll numbers. But I want to be clear that the build that we're engaged in and have been engaged in will dictate the spend. We were engaged with some long-term, high-profile free-agent discussions that we didn't match up on. And we're going to stay disciplined with this approach to make sure that we have this growing core of young players. And that's really important, because we think that's going to position us for the best chance to be successful for the long term."

One of the main criticisms levied at Chaim Bloom during his tenure as Boston's chief baseball officer was his conservative approach toward free agency and trades.

Bloom oversaw the Mookie Betts trade that looked bad initially and has turned out to be disastrous with hindsight. The Red Sox received Alex Verdugo, Connor Wong and Jeter Downs from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the deal. Wong is the only player still on Boston's roster.

But it's looking more likely that Bloom's approach wasn't necessarily his fault, but one dictated to him by ownership to avoid significant spending increases.

The Red Sox have had payrolls under $200 million in two of the past three seasons. Their current projected payroll in 2024 is just over $180 million.

Craig Breslow, who was hired to replace Bloom in October, is already being roped into the vitriol Red Sox fans feel toward management. He and Kennedy were booed at the Winter Wonderland event when they were introduced.

Per MLB insider Peter Gammons, executives from other teams that have talked to the Red Sox say they are claiming they have to cut spending because Fenway Sports Group suffered financial losses during the offseason and Breslow doesn't have the payroll he was expecting when he got the job.

Meanwhile, Red Sox fans have seen the hated New York Yankees respond to their worst season since 1991 by acquiring Juan Soto in a trade with the San Diego Padres and sign Marcus Stroman in free agency.

Since winning the World Series in 2018, the Red Sox have made the playoffs once in the past five years. They only have two winning seasons since then and have finished at least 21 games behind the AL East winner in each of the past two years.