First thing's first, yes I know I missed a blog yesterday, I'm not going to beat myself up about it, and try to write two today. Fuck it, we ball.
Right, so I don't think anyone could have predicted how last season would have gone for the Red Sox last year, from the immediate aftermath of the post-2018 talent dump to the Kike Hernandez and Hunter Renfroe becoming some of the best outfielders in baseball, to the Kyle from Waltham acquisition that pushed us towards the playoffs.
That all being said, if you've been a fan of the Sox since the turn of the century, you've seen examples of these ugly teams that have done well for no reason. From '04 to '13, there have always been these guys.
Now, did we win the World Series? No, we didn't, and I don't think anyone outside Jared Carrabis (love you Rocket) picked us to, either. But we knocked off the juggernaut Rays, I guess that counts for something. And the Astros DIDN'T win the World Series, which is the most important thing in non-Sox years these days ( the Y*nkees don't count, they're not even relevant now).
But we've made it to the end of the year, and the future is marginally bright. There are young guys with good potential at a bunch of positions, a few guys entering or in their prime, and enough good arms to keep us in contention. But what do we do this winter?
J.D. Martinez decided to come back by not triggering his opt-out, which solidifies our remaining middle-of-the-lineup power that's leftover from the 2018 team. An option that didn't get picked up in a similar fashion was Kyle Schwarber's, although Chaim Bloom sees a world where we resign him as a free agent. I think a Schwarber return would give us a further boost in terms of power from the left side of the plate; and if there's a number that doesn't run us dry as we get towards Devers and Bogaerts contract time, that's obviously better.
Should Schwarber decide not to return, though, it begs the question of what the front office does with that freed-up cash, and the way the roster is made up now includes a lot of guys who play multiple positions. When you look at someone like Hernandez or Renfroe, they both had career years or near it last year, but it's hard to think about what their value would be to another team. Duran is young and likely would be the best asset to someone willing to give up a big-name player. I think to contend with Tampa and the emerging Toronto and to firmly establish themselves above New York and Baltimore, making a big splash pitching addition will be the key.
We still have Sale and his rebuilt arm, Eovaldi, and as of like ten minutes ago (Heyman), a multiyear offer in on Eduardo Rodriguez. Should all those go through, we're left with Pivetta and Houck, as well as the forever rotating cast of sometimes relievers (Perez day, anyone?). When looking at 2018, that top-heavy rotation with Price and Sale and Porcello AND Eovaldi AND E-Rod, it kind of makes sense when you look at what we have now and where we struggle. Unloading anyone that serves a kind of "surplus" role would be the way to do it, I believe.
Who that is, and how big they want to swing, is largely up to the Sox. They have enough "good or better, right now" talent, and more than enough guys that would be seen on the major league roster in the next 3-5 years that they're in prime position to deal for a big fish. The last two years have been slightly underwhelming in terms of front-office aggression, and I'd like to see that attitude change a little bit.
This winter could be very important for the next few years of the Red Sox 's future, and how they choose to position themselves in a division that is up for grabs by a handful of good teams.
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