Of note, Bowden identified the Red Sox as the team “that asked for too much in trades,” citing multiple MLB general managers. That led to another undesirable superlative for Boston: “The fan base that heard crickets.”

Bergert arrived from the San Diego Padres. He owns a 2.78 ERA in 11 games (seven starts) while holding opponents to a .186 batting average. The Royals will conclude the Red Sox series with Michael Wacha starting on Wednesday night.