Looking at 2020
There’s a lot of uncertainty for the Red Sox heading into this offseason. They still don’t have a dedicated GM as they’re running with a team of interim general managers. Nobody knows if J.D. Martinez will return to the club or test free agency. And then there are the constant rumors surround possible trades of Mookie Betts as well as other key players.
I don’t have a crystal ball and have zero ideas of what this team is going to do this winter, but I do know that they can become relevant with some tweaks. They need to focus on the pitching staff first and foremost.
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The Sox need to get the starters healthy and get them ready in spring training, unlike the last season. Giving the extra rest after the World Series may have seemed like a good idea on paper but it clearly didn’t give them any help. These guys need to be ready to go for Opening Day so they can come out of the gates hot.
Boston’s bullpen has some good pieces going forward but they can’t just rest on their laurels like we constantly heard from the organization in 2019. They’re not bad but they’re not good either, they need some extra ingredients to make the dish perfect. That’s going to come at a price as the relievers on the market this winter will all command a price.
This offense is a murderer’s row of hitters when they’re firing and ready to rock, but they need to regain their presence at the plate. When they were at their best there wasn’t a pitcher alive that could slow them down. An overeagerness when in the box in 2019 led to a lot of easy outs for the opposition, that can’t happen in 2020.
The Red Sox can absolutely make their way back to the World Series next season if they address the problems that they ignored all season. Cora, as well as the front office, needs to be proactive not just during the offseason but as the calendar, flips through 2020. If something isn’t working then it needs to be corrected. Boston has the components they just need to find the instructions to put them all together.