How Boston Red Sox benefit from shortened 2020 season

The benefits of a 60-game regular season for the Red Sox

Just recently has Rob Manfred and Tony Clark, the executive director of the MLBPA, met face to face during a “productive meeting” that led to another MLB proposal in an effort to save baseball in 2020. This all happened after Manfred expressed that he was “not confident” that the MLBPA and the owners would settle on an agreement just five days after confirming there will “100% be baseball in 2020”.

It appears that the MLB proposal would include 60 regular season games (in only 70 days) starting on July 19th/20th, according to Ken Rosenthal. There would also be expanded playoffs for 2020 and 2021 which would include 16 teams rather than 10.

With an expanded playoff format, the Boston Red Sox would have a much greater chance of playing in the postseason. More than half of major league teams will be playing postseason baseball in the next two seasons. Therefore, the Red Sox can manage to be in the middle of the pack and still notch a spot in the playoffs.

In comparison to last season, if there were expanded playoffs, the Red Sox would have made the postseason despite a lackluster season in comparison to years prior.

If the Red Sox can afford to lose games here and there and still make the postseason, they can also benefit from being able to experiment with different players. For example, they can test Ryan Weber in the rotation to see if he can be successful as a starter in the future. The same can be said with guys like Darwinzon Hernandez.

The Red Sox can also get a glimpse of some of our top prospects with a shortened season. Guys like Jarren Duran, Bobby Dalbec, and Bryan Mata can have opportunities to make big league appearances while still remaining rookie eligible for the 2021 season. Testing rookies as well as current Red Sox players in other positions can help to keep everyday starters fresh with a day off every once in a while. That will be very important going into an extended postseason, if Boston is able to stick around.

Another way that the Red Sox can benefit from a shortened season is that they have 60+ games to figure out if Ron Roenicke is cut out to be the Red Sox manager of the future. If the answer is yes, then the Red Sox can sign him to an extension. If he is not meant to be the manager of the future, they can hire someone else, perhaps Alex Cora. Roenicke can be asked to return as a bench coach or even a co-manager.

With a shortened 2020 season, we will also be able to see a good portion of the current roster make their Red Sox debuts quicker than we would have without a season. We will be able to watch Alex Verdugo prove the blockbuster trade with the Dodgers was worth it. We will also get to see Kevin Pillar, Martin Perez, Jose Peraza, Kevin Plawecki, and more play for Boston for the first time. There will be a lot of new faces.

Lastly, we will be able to see some of our favorites again! We will get to see Rafael Devers rake again. Xander Bogaerts will be back for another season. Eduardo Rodriguez will be back on the mound as our ace. JD Martinez will also be returning after opting in for another season in Boston.

Ultimately, the Red Sox are in a good place with a shortened a 2020 season. There’s a lot to look forward to in the upcoming months and hopefully the Red Sox can shock the world.