Boston Red Sox president and CEO, Sam Kennedy, has taken on more responsibility with the team's parent company, Fenway Sports Group.
FSG announced on March 1 that Kennedy has been named CEO of the group and they released a statement explaining his responsibilities.
“In these positions, Kennedy. . . will work closely with FSG Principal Owner John Henry, Chairman Tom Werner, and President Mike Gordon to oversee management of the entire FSG enterprise and position the company for operational excellence that ensures the competitive success of its teams across MLB, the EPL, NHL, NASCAR, and the company’s latest investment in the PGA TOUR,” the statement read.
This is a big role for someone who is also trying to manage an underperforming baseball team. It's as if the Red Sox are taking a backseat and there's no hope of improvement coming anytime soon. Henry affording Kennedy more authority at FSG makes it seem like Henry himself only plans to think about the Red Sox less and less.
Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy's promotion in Fenway Sports Group diverts more attention from the Red Sox
Craig Breslow is in charge of pretty much all of the baseball operations but Kennedy is responsible for the day-to-day decisions related to the ballclub. While Boston is part of FSG and the idea is to drive up the revenue across all streams of income, Kennedy serving in both roles could present an issue.
Kennedy has earned the opportunity with an expanded role within FSG as he's an accomplished executive, but it's hard not to feel like the Sox are on the back burner in Henry's eyes. Not only does the promotion divert some of Kennedy's attention from the namesake organization of the sports group, but it places more decision-making power into his hands so that the Red Sox don't even need to cross Henry's mind.
Realistically, Kennedy would be incentivized to make sure Boston is competitive as it drives the bottom line for FSG. So, it's possible that this move won't do anything to make things worse.
But it's well established that Boston's offseason didn't go as planned and little to nothing has been done to fix the team's glaring issues, which are only being exacerbated by injuries as spring training goes on.
https://t.co/SeRAmceOY1. Red Sox owners have won 4 World Series this century but they seem distracted or disinterested now. Few of these 8 big winter moves will bring immediate results so what’s the plan? (In here: what they bid for Yamamoto and where they stand with Monty)
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 8, 2024
Boston has long been linked to Jordan Montgomery but if it was going to add a top arm, it likely would have happened by now. But something has to be done to bolster the rotation. Red Sox Nation needs Henry to show that this team isn't on the back burner by giving the Red Sox a boost. And in Kennedy's new position with increased authority, it's more likely he could convince Henry to approve something.
This team can still compete as they are young and talented but they'll need some help along the way and ownership needs to prove they're willing to offer it. Kennedy's promotion could either be a step forward or backward for the Red Sox in the eyes of Henry and FSG — it all depends on how he uses his new power.