CityState : Current l Edited by Dana Laverty
A Seat at the Table
Cumberland ’ s Raquel Ferreira has traveled from Tucker Field to the upper echelons of Fenway Park . By Mike Scandura
FROM LEFT : Raquel Ferreira is the Boston Red Sox executive vice president and assistant general manager .
Ferreira stands with Red Sox manager Alex Cora on the field at Fenway Park .
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF THE BOSTON RED SOX .
To say Cumberland ’ s Raquel Ferreira is a member of an exclusive group of Major League Baseball executives would be an understatement .
Ferreira , a 1992 University of Rhode Island graduate , is the Boston Red Sox executive vice president and assistant general manager .
The only other females who hold such high-profile positions in a male-dominated business are Marlins General Manager Kim Ng , Yankees Assistant G . M . Jean Afterman and Red Sox Assistant G . M ./ Associate Counsel Elaine Steward .
“ I hope for the day when it doesn ’ t matter what women do ,” Ferreira says . “ I hope there are women that follow after us . If it were not for those women , I don ’ t think I would be where I am .
“ There always has to be somebody who trailblazes the way — somebody who was the first before who helps pave the way .”
Ferreira , who ’ s in her twenty-fifth season with the Red Sox , was hired in 1999 as an administrative assistant , promoted to director of
minor league administration in 2003 and assumed her current position in 2019 .
Yet there was a period when Ferreira didn ’ t know what career path she would follow .
“ Honestly , I didn ’ t have a timeline ,” she says . “ I grew up watching sports with my brother [ David ]. I was the manager of the junior varsity team at Cumberland High . I remember sitting in my living room in Cumberland and he taught me how to score a game because he didn ’ t want me to embarrass him .
“ I grew up in the era of [ Michael ] Jordan and [ Scottie ] Pippin and thought I would want to work in basketball but I gravitated toward baseball because of my brother .”
Ferreira , who obtained a bachelor ’ s degree in communications , started networking and meeting people in the industry .
“ I ended up meeting somebody who knew the Red Sox ,” she says . “ But I didn ’ t want to take a job as a glorified secretary .” Given her steady progression , Ferreira is anything but a glorified secretary .
For example , in 2019 , she played a major role in signing former Red Sox and current Padre Xander Bogaerts to a six-year , $ 120-million contract extension .
“ Every assistant G . M . does something different ,” she says . “ I deal with players and staff and handle the baseball operations budget . When you consider player development there are twenty different budgets .”
In 2019 , she became part of the leadership team that oversaw the Red Sox baseball operations department after G . M . Dave Dombrowski departed .
“ I love the ownership group ,” Ferreira says . “ They gave me a seat at the table which I won ’ t forget , and I ’ m a loyal person . It would have to be an opportunity that ’ s better than where I am now [ to leave Boston ], which would be tough to beat .”
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l AUGUST 2023 23