What Happened to the Red Sox?
Alex Cora holds up the Commissioners Trophy after the Red Sox’s win against the LA Dodgers in the 2018 World Series.
March 20, 2023
Last season left a lot to be desired. The Boston Red Sox finished with a record of 78-84 and were last in the American League East (AL East) The year prior, they made it to the American League Championship Series (ALCS). After a questionable off-season, the team’s direction this season is a mystery. What happened to the Red Sox?
Back in 2018, the Red Sox made a historic run eventually ending in a World Series win against the Los Angeles Dodgers. This team consisted of many exceptional players such as Xander Bogarts, Mookie Betts, Chris Sale, Andrew Benintendi, and others. Only three players of all players on the 2018 roster are still on the team. Following this season, the Red Sox made the playoffs once and was at the bottom of the league in the other 3 years. This change was prompted by the hiring of Chief Baseball Officer, Chaim Bloom.
Coming from the Tampa Bay Rays management, Bloom was used to running a small market team. A small market team is a team that does not have enough money to pay a lot of big-name players that cost a lot of money. These teams often have a low payroll. Boston is not this. Boston is one of the largest valued teams in the league. This allows Boston to spend more money on players, but they don’t. After the 2018 season, even though they were at the top of the league, they started their rebuild. The main and most devastating trade occurred in February of 2020, when the Red Sox Traded Star outfielder and 2018 MVP, Mookie Betts, to the Dodgers for two prospects (Jeter Downs, Conner Wong) and outfielder Alex Verdugo. This came as a huge surprise for Boston fans. Colin Chisolm, a co-owner of the sports management club at Hingham High School (@hhs_sportsmanagement on Instagram), described the trade as, “horrendous.” Colin expressed that Mookie Betts was not worth the players that the Red Sox got in return. This was just one of many questionable trades that brought the team to what it is now, but what does this team look like?
With the Opening day only a couple of weeks away, the Red Sox are hoping to be competitive in the loaded AL East. After a busy off-season and important signings, the Red Sox’s team is slowly turning back into the team that Boston fans expect it to be. The opening day lineup will look something like this (subject to change):
- Tristan Casas (1B)
- Rafael Devers (3B)
- Justin Turner (DH)
- Masataka Yoshida (OF)
- Christian Arroyo (2B)
- Alex Verdugo (OF)
- Adam Duvall (OF)
- Reese McGuire (C)
- Enrique Hernandez (SS)
Even with a significant injury to second baseman Trevor Story, the Red Sox are still looking to have a solid season. There are many different opinions that people have on how well the Red Sox will perform this season. Some expect the Red Sox to make the playoffs, while others aren’t as optimistic. John Leone, a freshman on the baseball team, predicted that the Red sox would go, “91-71” this season. He felt that the young talent mixed with the veterans on the roster will make the team competitive.
The Red Sox have changed a lot over the past 5 years. Players and managers have come and gone, but if there is anything consistent with this team, it is the die-hard fanbase’s hunger for success.
