The Red Sox rotation falls apart
As for the other key members of the rotation, Sale struggled throughout the season, posing a 6-11 record with a career-high 4.40 ERA in 25 starts. Though he struck out 218 batters in 147.2 innings, Sale never found a groove and eventually had to undergo Tommy John surgery, missing all of 2020 (Sale has been fantastic since his return to Red Sox in August — he was placed on the COVID-19 IL on Saturday, however).
To Rodriguez’s credit, 2019 has been his best season to date (Rodriguez missed 2020 to a heart condition caused by COVID-19 and he’s been inconsistent this year) — his 19 wins were the third most in baseball and his 203.1 innings were among the top 15, just behind Jacob Degrom.
Porcello went 14-12 with a 5.52 ERA and left in free agency, signing with the New York Mets.
The Red Sox finished 84-78, missing the playoffs. In the offseason, they lost Manager Alex Cora due to MLB’s findings in the Houston Astros sign stealing investigation (Cora returned before the 2021 season). Mookie Betts was traded to the Dodgers. Then, the world experienced a life-changing pandemic, which is still impacting everyone, including the Red Sox.