Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy is aware of the narrative that has followed the club throughout the offseason. He’s heard the complaints that the Red Sox are the only MLB team that hasn’t yet signed a big league free agent, as well as the skepticism that the club is willing to do what it takes to land a top tier free agent.

Asked for his thoughts Saturday at Fenway Fest, Kennedy pushed back on the notion that the Red Sox aren’t willing to spend on talent.

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“It’s just important to look at the facts,” Kennedy said. “If you go back a year ago this date last year, I believe our organization has taken on close to $500 million in contractual commitments to guys like Garrett Crochet, guys like Kristian Campbell, guys like Roman Anthony. That’s just a fact. We’ve added $40 million in payroll through trades. That’s just a fact. We cannot and do not try to control social media narratives, we understand that talk radio is ablaze with opinions and ideas, and that’s what makes this the best place in the world to be, to live and to operate in baseball.”

While the Red Sox have not signed a free agent, the club has swung 10 trades since the season ended, including two major moves that brought in starting pitcher Sonny Gray and first baseman Willson Contreras.

Kennedy said he believes the club is well positioned to build on last year’s success, though when pressed on whether or not the club has any apprehension towards signing a free agent in his 30s to a long-term deal, he declined to say, instead emphasizing the importance of building a team through a variety of avenues.

“It’s really important that we focus on using all the different ways to get players on this roster and not to discard or dismiss any of them,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy also declined to comment on free agent third baseman Alex Bregman specifically, though he said he stands by past comments he’s made about the club’s desire to see him back in Boston.

Quick hits

When asked for his thoughts about the state of free agency as a whole, Kennedy expressed support for MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s suggestion earlier this week that the league implement some kind of free agent signing deadline. “Obviously (it’s) way above my paygrade, but count me as someone who would support that,” Kennedy said. “I think in terms of being in a very competitive market for fan interest and attention, having a defined period would be helpful.” … Kennedy said interest in season tickets has been “back to 2018 levels” and that the club is anticipating 93-94% renewal rate. Individual game tickets will go on sale next week. … Kennedy declined to say whether or not the Red Sox would be comfortable going over the second Competitive Balance Tax threshold, which this season is set for $264 million. The Red Sox payroll is currently estimated to be roughly $243 million, just under the first threshold. … There are not expected to be any major changes to Fenway Park this coming season, with Kennedy saying the club’s focus right now is on redeveloping the surrounding neighborhood through the Fenway Corners project. He said the Red Sox are deep into the design and engineering phase for various buildings but that the development as a whole will take years to complete, possibly a decade.