The Boston Red Sox will kick off their 2024 campaign on the west coast against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night, and that feels like a pretty fitting way to kick off the new season. Interest in the Sox is at an all-time low after a horrific offseason of work, so why not have them start the season out west and play at 10:10 EST, a game in which only diehard fans will be staying up to watch.
After the team's ownership claimed they would be going “full-throttle” this offseason in an effort to upgrade their team, they ended up doing nothing of the sort, and the team now has an objectively worse roster on their hands than they did at the end of the 2023 campaign. After how big of a mess last year was, it's tough to see how 2024 can be better.
Boston has some talented players on their roster, but they have the same glaring holes that they had last offseason, in addition to a few other self-inflicted wounds that came from the front office being forced to spend the past few months watching from the sidelines. The Red Sox could surprise in 2024, but what are realistic expectations for them ahead of the new season? Let's take a deeper dive so that we can get an answer to that big question.
Is there any hope for the 2024 Red Sox?
The Red Sox finished last in the American League East in 2023, but it wasn't like they had an awful team. Sure, they weren't exactly thrilling to watch, but their lineup was good enough to keep them competitive, and their bullpen had some guys step up and deliver great seasons. The problem was the starting rotation was, well, awful.
The makeup of the Red Sox roster in 2024 looks eerily similar. They have a solid lineup and bullpen, but their starting rotation looks likely to be one of the worst in the league. And making things even worse, the lineup and bullpen appear to be in worse condition than they were last season, which doesn't exactly inspire much confidence in this squad.
Boston's path to victory remains similar to what it was last year; their lineup needs to mash. Rafael Devers is one of the top hitters in the league, and he should get some support from Trevor Story, Triston Casas, Masataka Yoshida, and Jarren Duran throughout the year. If Ceddanne Rafaela can also turn into a consistent source of offense, this lineup could be a sneaky good group.
The bullpen is already on somewhat shaky ground with their two best arms in Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin dealing with injury concerns during Spring Training, but both guys appear good to go for the start of the season. They only have one left specialist right now in Joely Rodriguez, which is probably going to become an issue early on, but they have solid depth in Triple-A that they can call upon when needed.
That brings us to the starting rotation, which is a mess yet again. Boston's biggest splash in free agency saw them sign veteran starter Lucas Giolito to come in and lead this group, but he's already out for the season after undergoing surgery on his elbow. That means this group now consists of Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock, and Tanner Houck.
For those who forgot last season, none of these guys had an ERA below four, and while they certainly could improve this year, chances are it will be more of the same in 2024. They don't have a true ace, and they are putting all of their trust in guys who were horrible last season. That's not exactly a recipe for success.
The biggest issue for the Sox is the amount of talent that they let leave this offseason without properly replacing. They weren't superstars by any means, but Adam Duvall and Justin Turner both left in free agency, and Chris Sale and Alex Verdugo were both traded. The front office tried to replace Sale with Giolito, and traded for Tyler O'Neill to replace Verdugo, but the other two were key bats that have left with no one being brought in to replace them.
And as it's been established countless times throughout the offseason, the Red Sox had the means to pursue upgrades in free agency, but chose not to do so. Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery only recently found new homes, but Boston opted to not shell out some cash for them, and instead will ride with this awful starting rotation. That's not the difference between contending for a title and being a cellar-dweller, but it's tough to get excited about this team when the folks running it don't seem to care about it at all.
In order for the Red Sox to be competitive, they are going to need some of their young guns to perform well above expectations, but if that doesn't happen, another last place finish in the AL East is likely on the docket. It's a shame that this is what Boston baseball has come to, but for the second straight year, ownership is willingly trotting out a mediocre team, and chances are, it's going to be a long summer of action for this underwhelming squad.
Follow Us
Subscribe