How Sam Kennedy Handled Question About Justin Verlander-Red Sox Rumor

We might never know how close (or far away) the Boston Red Sox were to acquiring Justin Verlander before the 2023 Major League Baseball trade deadline.

The Red Sox were considered long shots to land Verlander, whom the New York Mets ultimately traded to the Houston Astros, but The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported after the Aug. 1 deadline, citing sources, that Boston was among the teams that pursued a deal for the three-time Cy Young Award winner.

So, WEEI’s Greg Hill asked Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy about the rumor Thursday morning. And Kennedy responded exactly how you’d expect.

“I can’t discuss specific players, Greg,” Kennedy said during his appearance on “The Greg Hill Show.” “I will say that the group explored anything and everything that was out there. It was a really tremendous amount of work, and (we) explored just about everything that you could possibly explore to try and improve in the near term and the long term. But without talking about specific guys.”

Kennedy’s unwillingness to discuss Verlander should come as no surprise. Not only is Verlander a member of the Astros, thereby prohibiting Kennedy from going into the specifics of any trade talks the Red Sox did or did not have with the Mets. It also wouldn’t be productive to rehash something that didn’t come to fruition.

The bottom line is the Red Sox mostly stood pat at the trade deadline, opting to build depth rather than make a splash. And, as Kennedy acknowledged Thursday, that approach largely stemmed from Boston’s unwillingness to part with its top prospects.

Trading for Verlander obviously would’ve required the Red Sox to tap into their farm system, which has significantly improved since Chaim Bloom took over as the organization’s chief baseball officer in October 2019, and it’s unclear to what lengths Boston would’ve gone to add a pitcher of Verlander’s caliber.

Verlander is in the midst of his age-40 season. His contract reportedly carries a $43.3 million salary for 2024.