BOSTON — The next lead baseball executive hired by the Red Sox will be the fifth they’ve employed since the 2011 season.
Since Theo Epstein left the organization after the 2011 collapse, three executives have held the top spot in Baseball Operations and none — not Ben Cherington, not Dave Dombrowski and not Chaim Bloom — has held the position for as long as four full seasons.
It might seem that kind of instability could be an obstacle in attracting the best candidates to fill the vacancy created when the team fired Bloom last month. After all, why commit to a job when two of the last three candidates were dismissed not long after directing the franchise to a World Series title?
But president and CEO Sam Kennedy, who will lead the search and ultimately make the hire — with the approval of ownership — isn’t concerned about that perception.
“At the end of the day — and I understand that, and it’s a fair question — (but) this is the Boston Red Sox,” said Kennedy in a nearly hour-long end-of-season press conference at Fenway Park. “If you want to run a baseball organization, this is where you want to be. You want to be in Boston.
“Why? Because it matters here more than anywhere else. So if you’re not up for that challenge: thanks, but no thanks.”
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That appeal may have carried more weight a decade or so ago, when the team had won four titles in the span of 10 years while getting to Game 7 of the ALCS on two other occasions.
But since 2013, the team has experienced four last-place finishes in the American League East and cycled through a number of top executives.
Even the last interviewing cycle saw the Red Sox struggle to generate interest in the position. Before the Red Sox hired Bloom in October of 2019, they approached two top decision-makers with other organizations — Chris Antonetti with the Cleveland Guardians and Derek Falvey with the Minnesota Twins — and both declined to interview with Boston despite having New England ties.
Another change has happened since, with Bloom being fired before he could complete his fourth season. That’s not likely to enhance the attractiveness of the role.
Still, Kennedy remains undaunted and vowed to take candidates through what’s happened in the organization that resulted in several dismissals.
“We’d spend a lot of time (with prospective executives) going through year-by-year, personnel move by personnel move,” said Kennedy, “whatever it takes, to explain with candor and honesty about every single thing that’s happened here since 2002 if candidates want to go back that far.”
“What I can tell you is, we have all the ingredients necessary to be a World Series championship-caliber club and that’s something that I think anyone would look forward to being a part of.”
The incoming executive will inherit manager Alex Cora — who’s been told by ownership that he’ll remain on the job in 2024, the final year of his current contract — and a Baseball Operations staff that includes several people who’ve been with the organization for two decades or longer, including vice president Brian O’Halloran and assistant GMs Eddie Romero and Raquel Ferreira.
But Kennedy maintained that the new hire can still put his or her imprint on the organization.
“I think they absolutely can,’’ said Kennedy. “That’s important. You have to have people in position of leadership have the ability to make decisions. So that will be within their purview to do it.”
Kennedy said the organization has compiled a list of potential candidates and outreach has begun, with some interviews expected to begin later this week. He promised a more thorough and robust search than last time when Bloom was the only person interviewed.
And he didn’t sound worried a bit about attracting the targeted candidates.
“I just know that’s there’s no better spot than Boston, in baseball. None,” Kennedy said.
