The Red Sox lost to the New York Yankees in the wild card round, dropping Games 2 and 3 after leading the series 1-0, becoming the first team in the new playoff format to do so. The reasons the Red Sox lost were not surprising to those that followed the team all year: defensive lapses by the worst defensive team in baseball, not enough power in the lineup, and not enough starting pitching from a staff that never found a true number two starter behind Garrett Crochet.
Given where the Red Sox have been for the past few years, this season was a significant step forward. However, they have some real work to do this offseason to prevent plateauing next year.
Since their ALCS appearance in 2021, things have been rough for the Red Sox. They won 78 games in 2022 and 2023 while finishing last in the AL East both seasons. Last year was not much better, an 81-81 finish, which was only good for a distant third place in the division. If there was one word to describe the attitude around and toward the Red Sox in Boston, it would be apathy. Ownership was reluctant to spend, the front office couldn’t execute significant deals, and many fans had checked out. That began to change last December.
For years, the Red Sox had needed an ace to replace the oft-injured Chris Sale. On Dec. 11 they finally got one when they traded for Garrett Crochet. This came on the heels of Boston signing Aroldis Chapman to be the closer. Two months later, Alex Bregman was given a contract with an average annual value of $40 million. The team was finally spending money, and prospects, on highly talented players again.
Entering the season the expectations were the highest they had been in a long time, but with a few caveats: Crochet had not pitched a full season as a starter, Rafael Devers was unhappy, the lineup was a bat short, and the rotation was depending on Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito behind Crochet.
Crochet was terrific all season long, putting up Cy Young numbers. In his start in Game 1 of the wild card series in New York, Crochet was sensational. A career-high 117 pitches in 7.2 innings, one run allowed and 11 strikeouts. At one point, he retired 17 straight Yankee hitters en route to a 3-1 Red Sox win.
For Bello and Giolito, the season was a bit more mixed, but good overall. Bello had a terrific summer before falling off in September and getting hit hard in Game 2 against the Yankees. He showed that he has enough stuff to be a quality third starter in a good rotation. Giolito had a shaky start to the season, but then had a 3.13 ERA from June-September to go along with 95 strikeouts. He was dealt the unfortunate blow of an elbow injury right before the playoffs and did not pitch against New York.
For the first time in two decades, the Red Sox have multiple promising pitching prospects. Payton Tolle has an electric fastball and outdueled Paul Skenes in his first MLB start and now has a full offseason to develop his pitching repertoire. Connelly Early came up in September and had a 2.33 ERA in four starts before pitching well in Game 3 against the Yankees while his defense imploded behind him. The Red Sox are still short a bona fide number two starter, but they have a legit ace in Crochet and a lot of other strong pieces for the 3-5 spots.
Besides Crochet pitching like one of the best in baseball, what is really exciting for Red Sox fans is how well many of their young players played this year. In addition to Tolle and Early, Boston had Roman Anthony, Carlos Narvaez, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu all make significant contributions this year, and all are 26 or younger. Rafaela was the best defensive center fielder in the AL, Narvaez was elite defensively and a borderline All-Star before tailing off at the plate, Abreu was the team’s best power hitter when healthy, and Anthony looked like a future top-10 player in baseball from mid-June to September.
This isn’t to say that the Red Sox don’t have work to do. They’ll need to add another frontline-caliber starting pitcher, and their lineup could use another veteran power bat. The constant defensive mistakes over the past three years have killed Boston, and they played a huge role in the team losing Game 3. Baserunning was also a black mark, with Nate Eaton not scoring on a ball to second base in Game 2 that cost the Red Sox a chance at a lead in the seventh inning.
The Red Sox scored 786 runs this season, which was good for seventh in MLB. While that looks good on the surface, the team was far too inconsistent at the plate. They had 48 games where they scored two or fewer runs. They were 9-39 in those games. Boston was also 18th in average with runners in scoring position. Getting the offense some more power, particularly from the right side of the plate, would help.
For years, the Red Sox have needed two frontline starters. In Crochet, they have one. But their inability to add any of the other impact pitchers over the past two offseasons or one at this year’s trade deadline forced the Red Sox to rely on Bello in Game 2 and a rookie in Game 3 against New York. As bad as their defense is, this missing starting pitcher is their biggest weakness. There are no easy answers to improve that league-worst defense, but it is imperative the Red Sox figure out first and second base. Both of those positions have been a black hole defensively for the Red Sox for years.
The Red Sox are at a turning point. They have promise for the future and made the playoffs. But they lost a winnable series because they were a pitcher, two fielders and at least one bat short. There is an opportunity in front of them to add this offseason and make a jump to being a World Series contender. If they don’t, they’ll be mired where they are: a fun, good team that isn’t good enough.