Ownership continued to push back against the idea that the trade was to get under the CBTGETTY IMAGES
Red Sox Owner John Henry, Chair Tom Werner and President & CEO Sam Kennedy once again "took a swing" at explaining the Mookie Betts trade in a press conference yesterday, "insisting the deal was more about improving the team's talent base than cutting payroll," according to Peter Abraham of the BOSTON GLOBE. The owners "defended a trade that has defined the season before it started." Kennedy said the goal of the trade was to "get value back" and set the team up to "win another championship." He said, "Maybe it was the wrong decision. But that's why we made the decision." Abraham notes Henry began the press conference by "reading a 783-word statement that explained his side of the trade." The "crux of the missive" was that the Red Sox felt they "received more value for Betts in the trade than they would have otherwise." Ownership also "pushed back against the idea that the trade was made only to cut payroll to get under" the competitive balance tax limit and "reset the penalties for next year and beyond." Kennedy: "You don't trade Mookie Betts to get under the CBT. We traded Mookie Betts and David Price to get substantial value for the return." Henry said, "Players spend so many years being underpaid in the system that we have that when they get to free agency they've earned the right to maximize their chances of being paid" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/18).
COLUMNISTS NOT HAVING IT: In Providence, Bill Koch writes under the header, "Red Sox Owner John Henry Still Can't Find The Right Words Regarding Mookie Betts" (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 2/18). In Boston, Sean McAdam went with the header, "In Explaining Trade Of Mookie Betts, Red Sox Ownership Trips Up Badly" (BOSTONSPORTSJOURNAL.com, 2/17). Also in Boston, Dan Shaughnessy writes ownership "answered questions for 32 awkward minutes" yesterday, and he "would not say they stuck the landing." The press conference "went about as well as Deval Patrick's presidential bid and the quest to bring" the '24 Games to Boston (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/18). NBCSPORTSBOSTON.com's John Tomase wrote Henry, Werner and Kennedy could have "demonstrated a little more humility and candor" yesterday (2/17). The BOSTON HERALD's Tom Keegan writes if the Red Sox "wanted their fans to begin looking ahead instead of licking their wounds from a historically bad trade, they needed to tell the world how many years and how much money they offered Betts to stay in Boston." That way, "everyone could decide for themselves how they feel about the trade." Instead, they "failed to do so, leaving them only one grade for the day, which happens to match the grade for the trade: F" (BOSTON HERALD, 2/18).
I'M THE TAXMAN: MLB Network’s John Hart said the luxury tax penalties “are real.” Hart: “The competitive balance tax is real. The penalties, if you go over a certain percentage, are real, and will hurt the ball club” (“MLB Tonight,” MLB Network, 2/17). But MLB Net’s Chris Rose noted if the Red Sox had kept Betts and Price, they would have been taxed around $10M, which is “not that much in baseball terms.” Rose: “Not when you’re charging the kind of prices that the Red Sox are” (“Intentional Talk,” MLB Network, 2/17). Meanwhile, the Boston Globe’s Abraham said, “What happens now is, you wait and see how will they use that salary relief? Will they use it to add to the roster, whether it’s this year or next, and what kind of players will they get when they do that?” (“After Hours,” NESN, 2/17).
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE: In Massachusetts, Chris Cotillo notes the Red Sox' new interim manager Ron Roenicke "expressed some frustration with the lack of expediency" throughout the process of MLB's investigation into the team's alleged sign-stealing in '18. Roenicke: "I hoped it would be over with, but they wanted to make sure they're doing a thorough investigation and I guess it takes a while" (Springfield REPUBLICAN, 2/18).
SALES PITCH: Kennedy said that Red Sox ticket sales are "down a little more than 15% from this time last year." He said, "Some of that's demand. Some of that's pace of sale. We'll see as we get into March and April where that number shakes out. On the season-ticket holder front, we're usually in the high-80s in terms of a renewal rate; 88-89%. We anticipate finishing our season ticket renewals this year in the low 80s, maybe 80-82%. So down. We anticipated that." In Massachusetts, Christopher Smith notes the Red Sox missing the playoffs last season is "likely a major reason for the decrease." In October, the team announced that "ticket prices were increasing by an average of 1.7%" this season (Springfield REPUBLICAN, 2/18). In Boston, Jason Mastrodonato notes Kennedy at one point yesterday was asked, "Have the Red Sox considered doing anything for the fans or rolling back the ticket-price increase for 2020?" Kennedy, to begin a lengthy answer, said, "We've taken a very consistent approach over the last four, five years of a very modest ticket price increase" (BOSTON HERALD, 2/18).
