Boston Red Sox: Five biggest bright spots from 2020 season

Red Sox players who performed well during the 2020 season.

This year has been an utter disaster for the Boston Red Sox with a frustrating offseason leading to a nightmare 60-game campaign. The club sank to the bottom of the division and finished with the fourth-worst record in baseball. Boston’s pitching staff was brutal and the offense never clicked the way we’re accustomed to seeing this lineup pile up runs. Despite the dismal overall result, there were still some brights spots shining through the darkness in this lost season.

The Red Sox played poorly collectively but there are individuals who can take pride in their own production. There are no MVP candidates on a last-place club but there are several options to consider for the most valuable player on this team.

It could be a breakout performance from a young player or someone who exceeded expectations. Even a veteran who delivered the quality production we expect can be in the running. There’s some comfort in the stability of stars playing to their capabilities in a season when almost everything else seems to be going wrong.

There will be plenty of opportunities to dissect the problems that plagued the Red Sox in 2020 but for now, let’s focus on the positives.

Red Sox Honorable Mentions

These players either didn’t do quite enough or didn’t play often enough to crack the top-five list but they warrant being mentioned for their production.

Tanner Houck had a historically great start to his career, allowing only one earned run through his first 17 innings in the big leagues. He went 3-0 with a 0.53 ERA and 11.1 K/9 in three starts. The limited sample size keeps him out of the top five but Houck showed enough to earn himself a chance to compete for a spot in next year’s rotation.

Phillips Valdez was the breakout star of the bullpen but an 8.68 ERA in 10 September appearances took the shine off his promising first season in Boston. He still finished with a respectable 3.26 ERA for the season but his high walk rate (4.7 BB/9) remains a concern.

Martin Perez was the most consistent starter in a dysfunctional Red Sox rotation. Getting shelled for six runs in his final start spoiled his otherwise strong season, leaving him with a mediocre 4.50 ERA. He still did enough to warrant having his option for 2021 picked up.

Kevin Plawecki was an unexpected source of offense. The career .229 hitter caught fire this season to post a .341 batting average. The backup catcher only played 24 games though. The sample isn’t enough to convince us that he’s suddenly figured it out at the plate.

The Red Sox benefited when Yairo Munoz went AWOL on the Cardinals, allowing him to fall in their lap. He only played in 12 games but his .333 average and .844 OPS showed a glimpse of his potential.

Special shout out to Kevin Pillar, Mitch Moreland, Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree for performing well enough early in the season to build some trade value. Moreland was one of the team’s best hitters before he was traded but he played poorly after moving to San Diego. Pillar produced solid results after he was shipped to the Rockies but everyone hits well in Colorado. Workman was a disaster as the Phillies new closer and Hembree hit the injured list shortly after he was dealt. Solid work by the Red Sox to get anything of value for these players who weren’t part of their future.

Red Sox first baseman Bobby Dalbec

Bobby Dalbec showed us what the scouting reports predicted we would get. He’s going to strike out a ton but the whiffs will be offset by his incredible raw power.

The rookie only appeared in 23 games but Dalbec still managed to finish third on the team with eight home runs in 80 at-bats. His eight homers tied him with Rafael Devers (2017) for the second-most home runs in franchise history through their first 22 career games. George Scott had 10 in his first 22 big league games in 1966.

Dalbec had a historic five-game home run streak that set a Red Sox rookie record.  Dalbec is the first player in the modern era (since 1900) with a five-game home run streak within his first 10 career games. He’s also the first Red Sox hitter with six home runs in his first 10 career games.

His all-or-nothing swing results in plenty of strikeouts to accompany those homers. Dalbec’s staggering 42.4 percent strikeout rate was the second-worst in the majors among hitters with 90+ plate appearances.

Despite all the strikeouts, Dalbec wasn’t quite the liability in the batting average department that we expected, posting a decent .263 average as a rookie. A .394 BABIP helped Dalbec sustain a respectable average. While a high BABIP can often indicate a bit of luck was on the hitter’s side, Dalbec hits the ball so hard that anything he puts in play has a decent chance of falling in for a hit. He simply needs to make more contact.

Dalbec should enter 2021 as the primary first baseman for the Red Sox. With consistent playing time, Dalbec could make a legitimate run at 40+ home runs. His limited playing time this season means he’ll retain rookie status heading into next year, making him a viable Rookie of the Year candidate.

Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr.

Jackie Bradley Jr. quietly put together one of the best performances of his career at the plate. He set a career-high with a .284 average and .364 OBP while boosting his OPS above the .800 mark for the first time since 2016.

Bradley has always been a streaky hitter so the truncated schedule this season may have helped since one hot streak can give a boost. He finished the year strong with a .326 average in September and he went 12-for-28 (.428) over his final seven games.

Naturally, he also continued his stellar defensive play by piling up a highlight reel’s worth of amazing catches in the outfield. Bradley ranked fifth among major league center fielders with 6 defensive runs saved and tied for second with three outfield assists.

Bradley will take this strong performance into free agency for the first time in his career. The Red Sox never appeared to make much of an effort in negotiating an extension so the belief is that they are prepared to let him go. It’s possible they simply want to give him the opportunity to test the market and he could come back on a cheap deal if he doesn’t find the money he’s expecting. However, we very well may have seen the last of Bradley in a Red Sox uniform.

Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts

In a season in which so many star players struggled, it’s encouraging to see that at least one of the top bats in the Red Sox lineup managed to live up to his reputation.

The numbers aren’t quite up to the level of last year’s career-year when he finished fifth on the AL MVP ballot, even when prorating for the shortened schedule, but Xander Bogaerts still had a fantastic year. His batting averaged reached .300 for the second consecutive season and third time in his career and his slugging percentage topped .500 for the third straight year.

Bogaerts tied Devers for the team lead in home runs with 11, putting him on a similar pace to last season when he set a career-high with 33.

If there’s one area of regression that was a mild concern it’s the overall decline in extra-base hits. Bogaerts tallied 32+ doubles in each of the last five seasons, including a career-high 52 last year. His eight double this year put him well short of being on pace to extend that streak even if we had a full season. He didn’t record a triple for the second consecutive season after hitting 14 in his previous five seasons.

Bogaerts has emerged as the leader of this team. We could have seen this clubhouse completely fall apart during this miserable season with tempers flaring and teammates turning on each other. We didn’t see that happen and Bogaerts deserves some of the credit for helping to keep it together.

Red Sox starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi

Nathan Eovaldi was put in an impossible position, asked to anchor the staff as the ace he was never intended to be. That’s what happens when your top two starting pitchers spend the season on the injured list while two other starters departed via trade and free agency, leaving Eovaldi as the last man standing. The Red Sox had no interest in spending much money to plug those holes in the rotation so when Eduardo Rodriguez was unexpectedly sidelined with a heart condition, Eovaldi was thrust into the Opening Day spot.

All things considered, Eovaldi held up relatively well. He’s clearly not No. 1 starter material but when viewed through the lens of what the Red Sox signed him to be, the right-hander didn’t disappoint.

Eovaldi led the staff with four wins while posting a 3.72 ERA that stands as his best since 2013. He also posted the best strikeout (9.7 K/9) and walk (1.3 BB/9) rates of his career. Eovaldi’s 7.43 K/BB ratio would have ranked fifth in the majors if he had enough innings to qualify.

A calf injury limited Eovaldi to nine starts but he looked sharp when he returned in September, allowing only one earned run in 14 innings over his final three starts.

Eovaldi isn’t a true workhorse ace who should be leading the rotation but hopefully next year he won’t need to be. If he can pitch at this level as the team’s No. 3 or 4 starter then the Red Sox will gladly accept that from him.