https://baseballfireside.com/red-sox-then-and-now/
Since their last world championship in 2018, the Boston Red Sox have only been in the playoffs twice (2021 and 2024). Twice, the traded superstars and got nothing in return. In 2020 they traded franchise face Mookie Betts, in his prime, for the likes of the immortal Connor Wong (Wrong?). In 2025 they traded the current franchise face Rafael Devers and got Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, James Tibbs III, and Jose Bello. The first three are with other teams in 2026, and Bello is not on the Sox current roster. There were reasons to trade Devers and his $29 million per season salary. He was inconsistent at the plate. He was being a prima donna in the clubhouse when it came to where he would play. Would he accept a DH only role? Would he play third base when needed? His moods changed, and it hurt the team’s morale. Yet when you trade your best player then shouldn’t you therefore demand equality in return? Why not get a reasonably strong hitter and/or first line pitcher in return? Both the Betts and Devers trades were as lopsided as a see saw with a jockey on one end and a sumo wrestler on the other.
Starts At The Top
John Henry took over as Red Sox owner in 2001. I’ll always be grateful he modernized and preserved Fenway Park from the previous ownership. The JRY Trust (lead by John Harrington) nearly got it torn down to make way for a Fenway replica across the street a la Yankee Stadium. He spent what it took to bring the necessary players to break ‘The Curse” in 2004 by winning the World Series for the first time in 86 years. three more World Series championships followed. Hence he has gone far and above Red Sox ownership expectations. Yet it seems that he’s taken the easier road since 2018 and been less aggressive with the spending. Granted, there’ve been free agent busts. Pablo Sandoval was paid $95 million over three seasons. The problem was his totals were .237 BA/14 HR/59 RBI. Those stats would be mediocre for ONE season, let alone spread out over three. On the pitching side, John Lackey from 2009-2103 was paid $82 million. He was inconsistent and had arm issues. In 2011 his ERA was 6.41. While his overall record (81-59/3.88 ERA) is certainly credible, for the money he was paid it was considered subpar. So Henry has become wary of big free agent signings.
Above: A paunchy Pablo Sandoval shows he was a “big” free agent signing.
With the trade of Devers the Red Sox freed up $29 million in salary per year to get quality free agents. Yet ownership is content with Coors Banquet on a champaign budget. In the past off season they picked up 36 year-old Sonny Gray, and decent but not overpowering Ranger Suarez. They did not get a desperately needed power hitter. They let one such hitter, Alex Bregman, go to the Cubs after his one season in Boston. Bregman was brought in to put balls over the Green Monster the way he did when he visited Fenway with the Astros pre-2025. Wilson Contreras, a lifetime .257 hitter with 172 HR over 10 seasons, was propped up as an answer to Bregman’s loss. Yawn!
Hitting Coach
Since 2022 Peter Fatse has coached the Sox hitters. What has become apparent during his tenure is a poor approach to batting and a lack of situational hitting. Sox hitters are often frozen with pitches thrown down the middle but chase pitches a foot outside of the strike zone. They often go after first pitch offerings. The goal against a strong starter is to try and wear him out. Hitters need long at bats to raise the pitch counts to get to a team’s bullpen early. Thus, first pitching swinging is counter productive. The other issue is not batting in runners in scoring position (RISP) with zero or one out. Red Sox hitters often swing for the fences and whiff, rather than making solid contact to move runners. Going with pitch, bunting, and sacrifice flies are foreign concepts to current Sox hitters. Either Fatse has done little to address these issues or the hitters aren’t listening. Last year the Red Sox lost over 20 one run games. K’s and double plays with RISP heavily contributed to these losses. Boston finished in third place in the AL East, five games out of first. While they got a wild card spot they finished five games out of first place. Had they won even one quarter of those one run games they lost, they would have won the East Division title. Instead of all three playoff games at Yankee Stadium they would have had some October baseball in Fenway.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TffXMfTLh64
Moving Forward
The Red Sox are beginning to resemble the team I grew up with in the 1970’s (except for ’75 when they won the pennant). GM Craig Breslow and Henry settle for deals for players that are past their prime or are journeymen. This “strategy” won’t cut it against the aggressive Yankees or Blue Jays in the AL East. Neither will it get Boston past the L.A. Dodgers in the World Series. The Dodgers’ constant off season upgrading makes their Series appearance almost preordained. BTW…Mookie Betts is STILL with the Dodgers and has more Series rings with them (three) than he did with the Sox (one). Red Sox ownership must decide if they are content with the status quo or if they want to make real deals to bring more titles to Fenway Park.
