Boston Red Sox terrible, horrible, no good, very bad offseason
By Drew Athans
It’s been one thing after another for the Red Sox as the team has had their worst offseason in a long time. The worst part is that it’s been mostly self-inflicted.
2018 has never felt so far away. It really was only two years ago when the Boston Red Sox turned in the most dominant season in franchise history, winning 108 games and their ninth World Series title. Since then, things have gone steadily downhill.
The follow-up campaign in 2019 was a disaster from spring training all the way to the end of the season which saw the Sox finish in third place in the AL East and out of the postseason without a chance to defend their title. Yes, they were beset by injuries and several players under-performed, but despite the bright spots (breakout seasons from Rafael Devers and Eduardo Rodriguez and a stellar season from Xander Bogaerts), there was a feeling from the very first pitch on Opening Day that something just wasn’t right with the team.
What a difference a a few months makes. Since the end of the season things have gone from bad to worse for the Red Sox, if that even seems possible. For a variety of reasons, the team is easily having their worst offseason since 2011-2012 and just when it seems like it can’t sink any lower, they find a way.
From underwhelming player transactions to mixed messages coming from the front office, from an owner sniping at his own newspaper to a manager at the center of a bombshell cheating scandal, this offseason has been a complete train wreck for the Red Sox. Let’s go through each of these one at a time.