Boston Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy spoke out publicly for the first time since Xander Bogaerts ended his 10-year run with the organization and signed an 11-year deal with the San Diego Padres.
With the departure comes a leadership and premier middle infield loss to Boston's roster. Kennedy acknowledged how the business side of baseball tends to obstruct organizations from retaining homegrown stars such as Bogaerts.
"It's really, really difficult when you lose players that mean so much to you," Kennedy said, as transcribed by Chris Cotillo of MassLive. "... That's the hardest part of the job. Do you wish you could have homegrown stars from start to finish? Of course you do, but unfortunately, that's not the reality of this business all the time."
Bogaerts is just the latest fan-favorite to take his talents elsewhere. On Monday, former Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez agreed to a three-year contract with the Minnesota Twins -- another ex-homegrown Boston player.
However, Kennedy noted that losses from players as such can't be the primary focus for the Red Sox. He ensured that the organization's intentions are solely focused on bringing the next World Series title to Boston, despite whatever negative reception has come from their offseason.
"I try not to look back," Kennedy said. "You can really harm yourself and harm your plan and harm decision-making if you get too caught up in regrets in the past or any type of fear of the future. I don't engage in any of those two activities. I don't focus on regrets of the past and I don't worry about the things I can't control in the future."
Kennedy added: "We need to focus on what's important and that's playing baseball in October and winning World Series championships. That's the most important thing. So we'll let other people judge and decide if we're doing things right or wrong. That's not for us to say. That's for others."
On Tuesday, the Red Sox also introduced newly signed closer Kenley Jansen at Fenway Park.
