Boston — Red Sox supporters have cause for optimism this offseason with new leadership in place and chairman Tom Werner’s pledge to go “full throttle.”
As December draws to a close, that optimism is waning.
Not all has been quiet on the Red Sox end. Smaller moves have been made to strengthen the team overall, such as the trade of outfielder Alex Verdugo to the Yankees for right-hander Greg Weissert and Minor League righties Richard Fitts and Nicholas Judice, the addition of right-hander Tyler O’Neill to the lineup in a deal with St. Louis, and the one-year contract signing of righty Cooper Criswell to add more depth to the bullpen. But the big splash that Red Sox supporters were hoping for hasn’t materialized.
The baseball community has been waiting for Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s decisions, which has kept the free-agent market mostly at bay. With the dramatic conclusion of the Ohtani sweepstakes and Yamamoto purportedly joining fellow Team Japan star in Los Angeles, the free-agent pitching market is expected to gain momentum.
Even though the summer is still two months away, the Red Sox need to act quickly because the league’s dominoes are starting to fall.
The Red Sox had several needs going into the summer, but the three main ones were right-handed hitters, solid defensive second basemen, and starting pitchers. By adding O’Neill, they were able to address the latter, though they could have added one more impact player.
At the Winter Meetings, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow emphasized that the starting pitching position was the team’s top goal. The Red Sox have been linked to top free agents Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, and they are allegedly interested in Japanese lefty Shōta Imanaga and free agency Lucas Giolito. However, they departed Nashville, Tenn., without a deal in place and missed out on Yamamoto. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com also mentioned Michael Lorenzen and Marcus Stroman as potential Red Sox targets. Boston will need to add one or two starters, regardless of whether it signs one of the top free agents.
A player who could have a breakthrough year
If Triston Casas hadn’t already enjoyed a breakout season in 2023, the answer would be obvious. Now let’s focus on Brayan Bello, another young talent from Boston who shows promise.
Right now, Bello is scheduled to start behind lefty Chris Sale at number two in the rotation. Following her 2022 debut, Bello’s first full season in 2023 was hit and miss. In June, he was very good, pitching 33 2/3 innings with a 2.14 ERA. The right-hander, 24, has what it takes to be a reliable member of this rotation; it could just take some time for him to get used to a Major League workload.
Finding strategies to attack lefties will be Bello’s largest obstacle in 2024.
Kyle Teel, who was selected by Boston in the first round of the 2023 Draft, advanced quickly through the Minor League ranks during his rookie campaign. Teel, ranked No. 4 by MLB Pipeline, began the season in the Florida Complex League, where he amassed a.429 batting average in three games. After 53 at-bats with High-A Greenville, the 21-year-old hit.377 with a.938 OPS, good enough for a promotion to Double-A Portland.
Teel, a left-handed hitter, will probably begin the 2024 season with Portland, where he will need more time to get used to the increased level of competition. Teel will be one of eleven players taking part in the Red Sox 2024 Rookie Development Program, which will take place at Fenway Park over five days starting on January 15.
Although it’s a low bar, finishing above.500 seems like a reasonable objective to set after going 78-84 in consecutive seasons. The 2023 Red Sox, who went through strong streaks before cooling off, were the perfect example of what it means to have a wild season. Throughout the season, Boston was never truly competitive because of their thin rotation depth, inconsistent play at shortstop prior to Trevor Story’s comeback, and poor second base defense.
The Red Sox will be in a stronger position going into Spring Training if they can find a way to add two or three reliable pitchers and a great defensive second baseman this summer.