Once again, utterances from the Boston Red Sox front office have dominated headlines around the team. This time, Sam Kennedy and Tom Werner's comments about whiffing on Alex Bregman have taken center stage — as they should.
Kennedy and Werner shrugged off responsibility for Bregman's departure despite the team's refusal to offer him a no-trade clause, an alleged organizational policy (of course, John Henry wasn't available to take any heat). Werner's comments about the Rafael Devers trade also didn't go over well.
Behind all the front office drama, things at Red Sox spring training seem to be going quite well for the players. Everyone is so bought-in that tears were shed during a spring training meeting, according to Kennedy. He then called it "the best [meeting] we've ever had."
Alex Cora showed a video in which players' family members, including spouses, parents and kids, gave messages to the team. The video emphasized the sacrifices they have to make to get through a 162-game season without their family — the best way to make it worth it is to win it all.
Red Sox front office's foolish Alex Bregman, Rafael Devers comments overshadowed great moments from the same weekend
The weekend's good vibes went beyond the emotional video in the organizational meeting. Offseason acquisition Willson Contreras shared some things that stand out to him about this Red Sox team, and they sound familiar.
“I think what caught my attention was the chemistry that we already have in here. Even me, they made me feel like I’ve been here for years,” Contreras said.
"The power of friendship" has seemingly been a driver for the Red Sox in the last few seasons. Lucas Giolito noted that the 2025 squad was one of the closest he's ever been on and that the players relished every chance to help each other out (a culture which reportedly began with Bregman). Cora has a great relationship with his players and the friendship between Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer has been a fixture of the coverage around them.
Despite the front office's frequent slip-ups and alleged drama from the Devers trade, Boston has done a great job at making sure its players want to come through for each other. It's important for players to believe that the guys around them in the batting order will come through to advance the offense or that they'll make plays on defense, which can be accomplished through trust in each other. The Red Sox still have work to do to add home runs and limit strikeouts and errors, but playing in an environment where they trust their teammates could make those changes much easier, smoother and more sustainable.