February 5 was the Boston Red Sox's "truck day."
An 18-wheeler filled to the brim with the Red Sox's spring training equipment is headed down to Fenway South. It's a symbol of the offseason nearing a close.
As the truck makes its way to Fort Meyers and reaches the Floridian heat, the sun is setting on one of the more disappointing MLB offseasons in recent memory, especially for Red Sox Nation. After being promised action for months and having the front office slam the door in the faces of fans, Bostonians are jaded about baseball coming back.
And no one knows that better than CEO Sam Kennedy.
After John Henry backed out of attending Boston's winter fan festival, Kennedy and Tom Werner have been taking the brunt of the abuse from disappointed Sox fans. But just as the truck was about to pull away to haul the equipment down south, Kennedy offered Red Sox Nation a nugget of hope.
Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy hinted at possible changes to the roster
“The offseason continues,” Kennedy said at truck day events, via MassLive's Chris Cotillo. “There’s still a lot of unsigned players and conversations going on. I would anticipate there’s still work to be done.”
"There's still work to be done," implies that the roster isn't as finished as the front office previously made it seem. After being told that payroll would likely be lower for the upcoming campaign than it was in 2023, Boston fans thought the current roster was in its final form.
Kennedy didn't specify which actions the Red Sox are still looking into. But after a recent wave of optimism flooded over Sox fans in the return of Theo Epstein to Boston, it feels like it could be anything. Maybe even more than one thing.
Sam Kennedy said he sees the Red Sox roster as an unfinished product during the Truck Day festivities.
— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) February 5, 2024
“The offseason continues… There’s still a lot of unsigned players and conversations going on. I would anticipate there’s still work to be done.” - via @ChrisCotillo
He went… pic.twitter.com/zPQxZZMiVr
Jordan Montgomery has been living in Boston with his wife all offseason as she serves a medical residency. Boston has been keeping tabs on the market for Jorge Soler. It's even checked in on Blake Snell, every once in a great while. Cody Bellinger is available, too. Could the team trade Kenley Jansen? Chris Martin? Free up some money to sign someone bigger and better?
The Red Sox front office has been attesting all winter that the team would be competitive going into the season. It felt so hard to believe before. But with so many high-profile players without jobs even after the trucks have left, there's a strange sense of positivity with this statement.
Maybe waiting out the market was the right plan. No moves have been made yet, but it seems so unlikely that Snell will get the nine years and $270 million he's asked for. Maybe the Corbin Burnes trade brought everyone on the market back to reality after the signing of Shohei Ohtani raised everyone's prices.
Red Sox Nation won't know until a deal is made — if a deal is made. After an emotional rollercoaster of an offseason at the hands of the front office, everything and nothing seem possible at the same time.