Red Sox History: Ranking every squad of the 21st century
By Daniel Fox
No. 16: 2019 Red Sox (84-78)
After bringing back 23 of 25 members from their World Championship team, expectations were high for the 2019 Red Sox.
The offense did their part as Rafael Devers (.311/.361/.555, 36 HR 105 RBI) emerged to join J.D Martinez (36 HR, 105 RBIs), Mookie Betts (.295/.391/.524), and Xander Bogaerts (.309/.384/.555, 33 HR 117 RBIs) and form a fearsome middle of the order.
Yet as good as the offense was, the team had no chance with its porous pitching. Before succumbing to season-ending injuries, Chris Sale (4.40 ERA) and David Price (4.28) each posted the highest ERA of their career. Nathan Eovaldi missed significant time with injuries and was terrible when he did pitch (5.99 ERA), while Rick Porcello was arguably the worst starter in baseball, allowing a terrible 10.2 H/9 innings.
The bullpen struggled to replace Craig Kimbrel, blowing save after save before Brandon Workman (1.88 ERA) somewhat weathered the storm.
The Red Sox somehow stayed in contention through July, and they were just a half-game out of the wild card as late as July 27. However, the good times were short-lived, as an eight-game losing streak to the Rays and Yankees in early August sealed their fate.