Highlighting three key pieces the Red Sox added this offseason.
The Boston Red Sox front office was busy this offseason. While Bloom & Co. didn’t make any splashy signings or blockbuster trades, these moves should make the ballclub more competitive in 2021.
In baseball, getting your team the shiniest new toy in the winter doesn’t guarantee you lift the trophy in the fall (unless you sign Mookie Betts to the second-largest contract in league history because he’s a generational talent that deserves every cent. Why can’t the Red Sox get guys like that?). It’s more often the under the radar moves that fill roster holes and add depth and veteran leadership that prime a team for World Series contention.
Allow me to hearken back to a Red Sox team of yesteryear. After finishing at the bottom of the division in 2012, the Red Sox brought in a new manager and made several understated acquisitions. They acquired Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes, David Ross, Shane Victorino, Stephen Drew, and Koji Uehara. Those players had a combined 48 years of MLB experience between them and just three All-Star nods. They didn’t command an exorbitant salary, nor were expectations for them particularly lofty, but all of them ended up being significant contributors to a World Series championship team that following season.
There are a lot of parallels to be drawn between the 2012 and the 2020 offseasons. The players acquired in recent months could be the missing pieces that have the team playing ball in October rather than packing their bags in September. Here are the top three additions to the Red Sox 2021 roster: