Pedro Martínez defends the Red Sox’s inexplicable decision not to invest in free agency.
With spring training in Fort Myers, the Boston Red Sox have a wealth of renowned former players to help out.
Several well-known Bostonians, including Pedro Martínez, Jon Lester, and David Ortiz, have been at Fenway South this winter. Stars from previous Red Sox teams, their guidance is invaluable to players currently attempting to get to the major leagues.
Still, not every person the Sox signed up to assist at spring training made the decision to attend. After being disappointed by the 2023–24 offseason, Dustin Pedroia voiced his concerns to management on the team’s situation. He turned down the Sox’s offer to assist with preseason games.
Not all former Red Sox greats agree with Pedroia’s assessments of the team. When questioned about the organization’s lack of expenditure this winter, Martínez defended it.
Pedro Martínez defends the summer spending attitude of the Red Sox front staff.
We may not have achieved the level of achievement we had hoped for. Admittedly, we did get a taste of what we had invested in some of the players, but some of us also realize that we have been burned by going out there and signing big names and getting the big guys and then getting rid of our minor league system, which was the best when we first came here, Martínez said on the podcast “Fenway Rundown.”
“And we haven’t been able to recover since then, so when the stars fall out, we have nothing to talk about. We need, in my opinion, strike a balance between talented athletes.
Fans find some of Martínez’s claims to be accurate. With Chris Sale’s stay and recent departure from Boston, the point that “the big guys and the big names” don’t work out is obviously relevant.
However, skimping on quality players could also be the reason the squad is unable to recover from past setbacks. Although it is never ideal to lose or trade prospects that a company has invested time and money in developing, we have stated before and we will say it again: prospects are not guaranteed.
Well-established players don’t offer any guarantees either, but at least they have an MLB game history. There are countless reasons why someone could be injured at any time, thus it’s dangerous to invest money in athletes in a field where injuries are frequent. However, that is business.
And Martínez ought to be aware of it, having signed a record-breaking contract with the team he is defending in the first place.
