He’s the man who essentially runs the Red Sox and love him or hate him, Larry Lucchino will return to oversee the club’s operations again in 2013 with a new contract extension. John Henry, principal owner of the Sox appeared on WEEI Thursday afternoon and made the announcement that Lucchino, president and CEO of the team has agreed to an extension.
Terms of the extension were not revealed and Henry would not comment on the length of the deal or if Lucchino is signed on past the 2013 season. But this much we do know, the man who has had a say in many of the baseball decisions over the past few years will again be at the helm of the Boston Red Sox next season. Lucchino’s current contract was said to expire after the 2012 season.
Henry also took the chance to publicly address the rampant rumors that he and the other two owners (Lucchino and Tom Werner) were looking to sell the Red Sox. Henry claims that there is no foundation to the FOX business story and that the ownership group have never discussed selling the club in any shape or form. The extension of Lucchino would further endorse that notion, meaning the fans that want the owners to sell so the club can start fresh from the top down are likely to be hugely disappointed. Lucchino is the one who wanted Bobby Valentine hired as the manager this past winter even after Ben Cherington had voiced his opinion on hiring another candidate.
Henry and company bought the Red Sox in 2001 and recently purchased the Liverpool soccer team in 2010. The FOX story highlights that the Fenway Sports Group has concerns over the financial resources of running both mega sports teams. To date, the Red Sox have always had one of MLB’s highest payrolls since the change in ownership and although all contracts were not team friendly, they have committed themselves to spending money in an attempt to stay competitive. Just look at the Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford contracts. They didn’t pan out but the owners did anti up the dough to lure them to Boston.