Boston Red Sox President and CEO Sam Kennedy sat in the studio for the pregame show at Fenway Park ahead of games 2 and 3 of the series against the Cincinnati Reds to provide his honest take on the Rafael Devers trade deal and discuss the ballclub’s plans ahead of the MLB trade deadline.
The Red Sox won the series opener against the Reds on Monday night by a thumping score of 13-6. Game two was postponed due to inclement weather on Tuesday and was set to resume the next day, followed by the series finale.
It was almost a doubleheader between the ballclubs, and while the home team won the second game as well, the visitors took game three but couldn’t avoid an imminent series loss.
Red Sox President Reflects on Rafael Devers Trade and Ballclub’s Future Aspirations
While sitting in the studio at Fenway Park on Wednesday, Kennedy reflected on the Devers trade, the ballclub’s position in fulfilling their goals this season, and how the Raffy trade deal affects them as a group aspiring to reach the playoffs.
Kennedy said, “Yeah, well, look, I think both things can be true, that we have every bit of confidence in this group, that we have the ability to be playing postseason baseball. But I don’t think you can say that when Raffy Devers leaves the middle of your lineup, that specific move makes you better. That would be silly, right? We made the moves for baseball reasons that were necessary, still very difficult.
“One of the more difficult decisions we’ve made in our 25 years here. So it was difficult. We’re moving on, and we thank Raffy for everything he did for this organization. Grew up with us, won a World Series with us. But we’re confident in the group that we have and excited about what can be done, but we need to get going.”
He concluded, “We’re, you know, let’s get a sweep tonight. Let’s get back to 500, sit on that off day with a win. And I don’t know, no one’s counting, but I think we have like 23 games before the trade deadline. So we, apparently we are counting. Yeah.”
“I don’t think you can say that when Raffy Devers leaves the middle of your lineup, that specific move makes you better… We made the move for baseball reasons that were necessary. We’re confident in the group that we have.”
Sam Kennedy on the Rafael Devers trade. pic.twitter.com/kRUWp6330q
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The Red Sox are currently 43-45 for the season, acquiring the fourth spot in the AL East division. They are just six games behind the current division leaders, the New York Yankees, and will aim to cut that gap to the top ahead of the All-Star week.