It’s been turbulent times in Beantown with regards to the Boston Red Sox. The city rejoiced in four World Series titles this century after waiting 86 years for an MLB title.
However, the bloom is off the rose after the squad finished dead last in the American League East in three of the past five seasons. Not even a surge to the AL Championship Series in 2021 could dispel the notion that the Red Sox were in a state of decay.
Chaim Bloom, hired in 2019 as the team’s Chief Baseball Officer, became the poster boy for Red Sox Nation’s dismay as the team looked to slash payroll to get under the MLB luxury tax threshold. The team fired Bloom last September.
Red Sox look to rebound with youthful core
Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and even Alex Verdugo — acquired in the Betts trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers — are long gone. However, the team is hoping to rally behind a group of new heroes. Leading the Boston rebuild is a solid offensive combo at the infield corners.
The team’s headliner is third baseman Rafael Devers. While the Red Sox shed many of their stars over the past few years, Boston locked Devers into a 10-year, $313.5 million contract to keep the two-time Silver Slugger locked down through 2033.
The Red Sox seem to have found their first baseman for the foreseeable future as well. Triston Casas overcame a brief lackluster 2022 debut and a slow start to 2023 to finish strong and finish third in the AL Rookie of the Year vote. The 23-year-old finished last season with 24 homers, 65 RBI and a .263 batting average.
On a team chock-full of youth, Trevor Story returns to assume his role as the elder statesman of the offense. Due to injuries, Story has played just 137 games for Boston after signing a six-year, $140 million contract in March 2022. The two-time Silver Slugger while with the Colorado Rockies is reportedly back to full health this spring.
Pitching a mixed bag for Red Sox
Boston received a kick to the stomach at the start of spring training. Lucas Giolito, a former staff ace of the Chicago White Sox, was signed in January to resurrect his career with the Red Sox. However, in early March, he went down with an elbow injury that required season-ending surgery.
That means 24-year-old Brayan Bello rises to the top of the Red Sox rotation after going 12-11 with a 4.24 ERA in 2023. Familiar faces fill out the staff in Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock, and Tanner Houck.
The Red Sox bullpen is a crapshoot after the trusted late-inning tandem of Chris Martin and closer Kenley Jansen. Both have dealt with maladies during spring training. Jansen, a former dominant fireman for the Dodgers, reportedly is eager to be traded to a contender.
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Tom Carothers is a sportswriter with more than 20 years of experience covering sports at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. Still longing for the return of his Minnesota North Stars, he has a high pain tolerance as a big fan of the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Browns, and Tottenham Hotspur. You can follow him on X at @tomcarothers.