Boston Red Sox: Why this spring training looks, feels different

Something about this spring feels a bit different for the Red Sox

Every spring training brings a newly-revived sense of hope and optimism across all 30 Major League clubs. Some with aspirations of a championship, others with hopes of returning to the playoffs, and some who will just try to remain competitive and take the next step in a re-build. The Boston Red Sox are somewhere in the middle of all three of those.

The franchise is just three years removed from the winningest season in franchise history in which they captured their eighth World Series title. The team has regressed in each of the last two seasons,  falling off to an 84-win season in 2019 and a dismal 24-win season in a pandemic-shortened 2020.

Now, turn the calendar to 2021, and the three outfielders that helped them win the World Series in 2018 are all with a new team. The starting rotation features just two of the same names from that illustrious season. The manager is still the same, albeit back for his second stint after serving a year-long suspension.

So now that we know what looks different, why does it feel so different? Why does it feel as though on paper the Red Sox look subpar stacked up to most other clubs, but the more you watch them the more they seem respectable?

Well, for a few reasons, in fact. If you ask Alex Cora, he’ll be the first to tell you he’s fortunate to be in the position he’s in. After being suspended for his involvement in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal and then being linked to many jobs in Chicago and Detroit before finally landing back in Boston, Cora is primed for a reset with the team he had so much success with just a few short years ago. This year feels different because the fans know it too.

There’s a sense of trust with the fans in Cora. That’s what you earn when you step up to the plate, literally, and deliver results. The fans trust Cora, the players trust Cora, and it feels like he’s the right man for the job.

Wouldn’t it be so poetic for Cora to return and lead the team that wasn’t supposed to compete for a playoff spot this season, let alone a division title, to a spot in October?

Again, on paper, it doesn’t look like this team is quite cut out for that. At least that’s what the experts will tell you, and they’re right. There are teams out there who have far more star power and maybe even more talent in some cases. However, how many wins would Boston have had in 2018 if it weren’t for Cora’s magic-like handle on the bullpen in 2018? That’s what the fans remember.

There will be people who won’t want to admit it, but it feels different, and Cora is one of the main reasons why.

However, it’s not all on the man in the dugout. What happens on the diamond is up to the players trusted to be out there. And whether you’d like to say it or not, Boston’s roster is a bit more talented than people realize.

Think about it this way, what was Boston’s biggest ‘Achilles heel’ last season? The bullpen. Have they upgraded the bullpen? Well, you tell me. Boston has added former Yankee Adam Ottavino, as well as Japanese reliever Hirokazu Sawamura. Additionally, they have Darwinzon Hernandez returning along with Ryan Brasier and Matt Barnes. Just to name a few.

That’s a considerable upgrade for a team that had the worst team ERA in franchise history, and easily the worst in all of baseball last season.

Let’s circle back to something I echoed at the beginning of this piece: the three outfielders that many would consider three of the biggest pieces of the title run are all gone and have been replaced. Now, it’s easy to say replacing Mookie Betts isn’t really ‘replacing’ him because he’s a top-three player in baseball, but there’s a sentiment that’s been evident in Boston before that you don’t need superstars to win.

Need I remind you of the Nomar Garciaparra for Doug Mientkiewicz and Orlando Cabrera deal back in 2004? The whole superstar thing is overblown, and not to mention that Alex Verdugo is no slouch. The average for the soon-to-be 25-year old has crept upwards every year since he’s been in the league, and he’s primed to be the everyday right fielder in Boston that will be a mainstay at the top of the order. Pair him with already established leaders Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers and that’s a very, very decent top of the lineup.

Boston is young, and there will be hiccups and bumps in the road along the way, there’s no debating that. So expect it.

But guys like Jarren Duran, Tanner Houck, Bobby Dalbec, Tristan Casas, Jeter Downs, Connor Seabold, Jay Groome, and more? If all, or even at the very least some of them contribute and take a step forward this year, call that a success.

These Red Sox aren’t meant to win this season or even the next. But it feels like they could. With the right guy back in the dugout in Cora, and multiple young pieces in place to march towards the future, things are beginning to look up. And that is what’s so exciting. That’s why this spring feels different.