5 Highly-specific needs the Sox must address for 2023 roster

What does the Red Sox roster need to improve in 2023?

The Boston Red Sox have a lot of needs to fulfill before next season, including, but not limited to extensions for a certain pair of infielders, a lot of pitching, and some outfield upgrades.

Anyone who watched the Sox for a minute in 2022 knows all of this though, so let’s go deeper. It’s clear that the Sox need more home runs and fewer runs allowed going forward, but aside from all the injuries, what else contributed to the collapse of this team? What would make a difference next year?

Here are five very specific areas the Sox need to focus on improving for 2023 and beyond…

Players who can hit with RISP

Watching the Red Sox load the bases and then leave them loaded was a master class in predictability. It was more inevitable than Thanos but with no Avengers there to turn back time and undo the mess he made.

In 1,455 at-bats with runners in scoring position, the Sox hit .261/.329/.423 with 379 hits, 145 walks, and 353 strikeouts. But with the bases loaded and two outs (69 at-bats), that number plummeted to .229/.320/.396. As a whole, their two-out hitting and clutch hitting was dismal.

Fading down the stretch was a problem as well. The Sox put up their worst numbers by far between innings 7-9.