With season over, 9 goals for Red Sox in 2024
Your Boston Red Sox were finally officially eliminated from the Wild Card race after yesterday's (Wednesday, Sept. 20) 15-5 drubbing at the hands of the Texas Rangers, but they were cooked weeks ago, likely after the trade deadline when now former Chief Baseball Operations boss Chaim Bloom did nothing at the deadline except add yet another castoff, the below-the-Mendoza line second baseman Luis Urias.
(Yes, Urias did hit grand slams on consecutive at-bats over two days in August, but he should be among the many players let go after the season.)
My Aug. 29 post declared the Sox kaput in 2023, and their play in September has been simply horrendous, as they've fallen to a comfortable last place at this writing.
With a day off before the Sox play their final nine games --- five at home (3 against the White Sox and two against the Rays) and their final four games at Baltimore against the surging Orioles next weekend --- here are nine challenges for the Red Sox' next baseball boss and-or Alex Cora --- or his replacement, if the new baseball ops boss chooses to jettison Cora:
1. Starting pitching: This needs to be totally revamped. Brayan Bello has had an up-and-down season, but has shown enough to be considered for the third or fourth starter.
They need to acquire three starters who can give you six good innings consistently.
Chris Sale, Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock should be booted from the rotation. Houck and Whitlock could be key cogs in a revamped bullpen (see No. 2) while Sale could be a bulk guy on days when you need an opener, or he could be part of that revamped pen.
Why? Because Sale has been hurt way too much and can't be relied on to be a regular starter. And both Houck and Whitlock get hammered routinely when they have to face the lineup for a third time. That's why both have rarely gone deep in games.
2. The bullpen: Kenley Jansen (the closer) and Chris Martin (the prime set-up man) have been superb; everyone else with the possible exception of John Schreiber should be let go.
The Sox need to have a legitimate bullpen, which means letting go of all of the castoffs signed by Bloom. They need to get strong pitching for innings 5-6-7, which is also why they need to get starters who can give them fi ve or six solid innings every time out.
Kutter Crawford could be a valuable member of that pen --- but he, too, shouldn't be counted on to start.
2A: Pivetta's role: In addition, pitcher Nick Pivetta should be retained as he's a very valuable tool in the Sox's pitching arsenal. He can be a starter and go 5 or 6 innings; he can be an effective pitcher out of the bullpen; and he's proven to be very clutch in late-inning situations. He's also done well as the so-called "bulk" pitcher following openers, but I'd hope that the Red Sox don't do what they were forced to do this summer: Use openers for several weeks because of Bloom's failure to add reliable starting pitching depth to cover for injuries.
3. Be active in free agency: They should sign players who can be legitimate leaders --- and by that I don't mean signing Shohei Ohtani for $500 million. I'd take Justin Turner for one more year --- he's been solid. But even Adam Duvall has been way too streaky and shouldn't be retained at the expense of allowing one of their younger players to develop,
4. Legitimate hitters: They need to get more legitimate hitters so that Rafael Devers is protected. He shouldn't be the only feared hitter in the lineup.
5. No more reclamation projects: Nothing sums up the abject failure of the Bloom regime more than the Adalberto Mondesi fiasco. When Trevor Story went down last winter, he traded for the former Royals shortstop, giving up a lefty pitcher, Josh Taylor, for him. Mondesi never played a game as he was hurt all year! What a waste!
6. A real second baseman: With Story locked into playing shortstop, they need to get a legitimate (there's that word again) second baseman for 2024 while Nick Yorke moves through the farm system. They got next to nothing from this position, both on the field and at bat. And Pablo Reyes may be a decent utility player, but he's not an everyday player.
7. Move Alex Verdugo: In the four seasons since he came over in the Mookie Betts deal, Verdugo has been wicked inconsistent, both in the outfield and at the plate. He'll be in his walk year in 2024, and if you can get a decent starter or reliever for him, pull the trigger.
8. Commit to Ceddanne Rafaela: The rookie has the potential to shore up the Sox' awful defense --- they could make the most errors in the Majors this season. (See No. 9) Rafaela is versatile, as he can play center field and shortstop and could be given a shot to play second base. The youngster needs a decent chance to prove that he belongs in the Majors.
9. Fix the defense: Last --- but certainly not least --- fix the defense! Bloom neglected it, and putting Kike Hernandez at shortstop every day when he's at best a utility player was only part of the problem. I agree with the Sox broadcasters and analysts who lamented the defense, stressing that the lousy defense --- which deserved twice as many errors as they got charged with --- adversely affected the pitching, as too many times this year starters had to throw dozens of more pitches when bloopers cost them an out.
(Yes, Urias did hit grand slams on consecutive at-bats over two days in August, but he should be among the many players let go after the season.)
My Aug. 29 post declared the Sox kaput in 2023, and their play in September has been simply horrendous, as they've fallen to a comfortable last place at this writing.
With a day off before the Sox play their final nine games --- five at home (3 against the White Sox and two against the Rays) and their final four games at Baltimore against the surging Orioles next weekend --- here are nine challenges for the Red Sox' next baseball boss and-or Alex Cora --- or his replacement, if the new baseball ops boss chooses to jettison Cora:
1. Starting pitching: This needs to be totally revamped. Brayan Bello has had an up-and-down season, but has shown enough to be considered for the third or fourth starter.
They need to acquire three starters who can give you six good innings consistently.
Chris Sale, Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock should be booted from the rotation. Houck and Whitlock could be key cogs in a revamped bullpen (see No. 2) while Sale could be a bulk guy on days when you need an opener, or he could be part of that revamped pen.
Why? Because Sale has been hurt way too much and can't be relied on to be a regular starter. And both Houck and Whitlock get hammered routinely when they have to face the lineup for a third time. That's why both have rarely gone deep in games.
2. The bullpen: Kenley Jansen (the closer) and Chris Martin (the prime set-up man) have been superb; everyone else with the possible exception of John Schreiber should be let go.
The Sox need to have a legitimate bullpen, which means letting go of all of the castoffs signed by Bloom. They need to get strong pitching for innings 5-6-7, which is also why they need to get starters who can give them fi ve or six solid innings every time out.
Kutter Crawford could be a valuable member of that pen --- but he, too, shouldn't be counted on to start.
2A: Pivetta's role: In addition, pitcher Nick Pivetta should be retained as he's a very valuable tool in the Sox's pitching arsenal. He can be a starter and go 5 or 6 innings; he can be an effective pitcher out of the bullpen; and he's proven to be very clutch in late-inning situations. He's also done well as the so-called "bulk" pitcher following openers, but I'd hope that the Red Sox don't do what they were forced to do this summer: Use openers for several weeks because of Bloom's failure to add reliable starting pitching depth to cover for injuries.
3. Be active in free agency: They should sign players who can be legitimate leaders --- and by that I don't mean signing Shohei Ohtani for $500 million. I'd take Justin Turner for one more year --- he's been solid. But even Adam Duvall has been way too streaky and shouldn't be retained at the expense of allowing one of their younger players to develop,
4. Legitimate hitters: They need to get more legitimate hitters so that Rafael Devers is protected. He shouldn't be the only feared hitter in the lineup.
5. No more reclamation projects: Nothing sums up the abject failure of the Bloom regime more than the Adalberto Mondesi fiasco. When Trevor Story went down last winter, he traded for the former Royals shortstop, giving up a lefty pitcher, Josh Taylor, for him. Mondesi never played a game as he was hurt all year! What a waste!
6. A real second baseman: With Story locked into playing shortstop, they need to get a legitimate (there's that word again) second baseman for 2024 while Nick Yorke moves through the farm system. They got next to nothing from this position, both on the field and at bat. And Pablo Reyes may be a decent utility player, but he's not an everyday player.
7. Move Alex Verdugo: In the four seasons since he came over in the Mookie Betts deal, Verdugo has been wicked inconsistent, both in the outfield and at the plate. He'll be in his walk year in 2024, and if you can get a decent starter or reliever for him, pull the trigger.
8. Commit to Ceddanne Rafaela: The rookie has the potential to shore up the Sox' awful defense --- they could make the most errors in the Majors this season. (See No. 9) Rafaela is versatile, as he can play center field and shortstop and could be given a shot to play second base. The youngster needs a decent chance to prove that he belongs in the Majors.
9. Fix the defense: Last --- but certainly not least --- fix the defense! Bloom neglected it, and putting Kike Hernandez at shortstop every day when he's at best a utility player was only part of the problem. I agree with the Sox broadcasters and analysts who lamented the defense, stressing that the lousy defense --- which deserved twice as many errors as they got charged with --- adversely affected the pitching, as too many times this year starters had to throw dozens of more pitches when bloopers cost them an out.
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