Boston Red Sox: Five things we learned from Spring Training 2021
By Sean Penney
What we learned from watching the Red Sox this spring training
Spring training is in the books and it’s time to move on to Opening Day. Before the Boston Red Sox kick off the 2021 season, let’s reflect on what we’ve learned about this team over the course of training camp.
Many fans didn’t know what to expect from this team heading into spring. The Red Sox are coming off a miserable last-place finish in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The front office was active in free agency and on the trade market but they didn’t make the big splash many were hoping would turn this franchise around.
Instead, the focus was on building depth with role players who compliment the existing core. While the bargain hunting frustrated a portion of the fan base that conveniently forgot that Boston already had one of the largest payrolls in baseball before the offseason began, spring training showed us the value of those shrewd moves.
The Red Sox are a more complete team than the one that stumbled though last year’s 60-game slate. They are deeper, more versatile and have considerably more upside.
Boston’s brass was never going to turn this roster into a championship contender overnight but they should be vastly improved based on what we’ve seen this spring. Here are a handful of reasons why we should be encouraged by what we learned from training camp.