The holiday season is drawing to a close. Pitchers and catchers will report for duty at Fort Meyers before you know it. This is the perfect opportunity to reflect on the year 2024 from a Boston Red Sox perspective.
The Red Sox slightly improved on their record from the previous two seasons (78-84) to finish the 2024 slate at a perfectly even 81-81. Despite the average record, 2024 brought its fair share of successes and complications, from breakout seasons, franchise records, injuries, blockbuster trades and more.
Here’s a month-by-month review of the highlights and lowlights of this past year for the BoSox.
2024 in Review: Red Sox’s defining moments of the year
January 2024
The Red Sox tried to improve their inexperienced rotation by signing free-agent righty Lucas Giolito away from the White Sox. The team penciled him into the top end of the rotation and he looked like a solid addition to a thin staff.
On January 11th, the Red Sox picked up a right-handed power bat when they acquired Tyler O’Neill in a trade with the Cardinals. The oft-injured slugger came at a low cost and looked like the perfect fit for the dimensions of Fenway. As advertised, O’Neill missed his share of games, appearing in 113 overall. He proved his worth, however, with 31 home runs and a slugging percentage of .511.
Two other signings of note occurred in January. The Red Sox added Andrew Bailey as their pitching coach on January 18th and claimed Romy González from the White Sox on January 31st. Bailey brought with him his controversial pitching approach that relies heavily on off-speed pitches and the results were mixed this season. Gonzalez proved to be an invaluable utility guy for the Sox, playing all the infield positions along with a few appearances in the outfield.
February 2024
As spring training loomed, the Red Sox brass stayed relatively quiet. The lone signing of note in February was the addition of former AL Closer of the Year Liam Hendriks. The Sox inked the Australia native to a two-year deal as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, hoping he’d be available toward the end of the season. As it turned out, Hendriks never made it to the big league roster but is expected to be featured prominently in the bullpen in the second year of his deal with Boston.
March 2024
The Red Sox pitching staff suffered a major blow during spring training when the team’s prized free-agent signing, Giolito, sustained an elbow injury that required an internal brace procedure to repair. The UCL surgery kept him sidelined for the season, forcing the Red Sox to re-evaluate their starting rotation. The season got off to an early start in 2024, with the Sox splitting their first four games.
O'Neill homered in his fifth-consecutive Opening Day game to set an MLB record. Yogi Berra, Gary Carter and Todd Hundley had all hit home runs in four-straight Opening Day appearances, but O'Neill took firm hold of first place in his first game in a Red Sox uniform.
April 2024
The Red Sox had a strong April on the field, finishing the month 15-11 and smashing 32 home runs in the 26 games. Injuries cropped up again, however, and the team lost the services of shortstop Trevor Story and first baseman Triston Casas. Story was off to a spectacular start in the field and Casas was showing above-average power at the plate. It would be Story’s defense that the team would miss most throughout the summer.
May 2024
The Red Sox had their toughest month of the season in May, going 12-16 and falling back to 29-27 overall. The most noticeable difference was team defense with manager Alex Cora struggling to find the right pieces up the middle with the loss of Story. The team also hit just .234 in May, their second-worst team average of the season.
Rafael Devers trended the opposite way, though. The slugger mashed six home runs in six straight games to set a franchise record for consecutive appearances with a four-bagger. Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Dick Stuart, George Scott, Jose Canseco and Bobby Dalbec had all homered in five-straight games before Devers' record.
June 2024
The Sox pitching staff was dealt another blow when starting pitcher Garrett Whitlock, like Giolito before him, suffered a UCL injury that officially ended his season. Whitlock underwent the internal brace procedure on May 30, and the Red Sox began June short yet another starter for the foreseeable future. Despite the setback, Boston finished 15-13 in June and improved to 44-40 overall.
July 2024
Three Red Sox players were named to the AL All-Star team on July 7th. Devers, Jarren Duran, and Tanner Houck all earned a spot. It was the third selection for Devers, who didn't suit up due to nagging injuries. Duran and Houck were both selected for the first time. Duran went on to win the All-Star Game MVP Award after he homered to give the American League the win over the National League.
The Red Sox finished the month of July at 13-11 and were then seven games over .500 at 57-51. Boston extended manager Alex Cora for an additional three years on July 24th.
Before the July 30 trade deadline, the Red Sox added relief pitchers Lucas Sims and Luis García, catcher Danny Jansen and former Red Sox starter James Paxton to bolster the roster for the stretch run. Sims, García and Paxton all fell injured quickly after they arrived in Boston, and Jansen posted an underwhelming second half.
August 2024
The Red Sox faltered in August, going 13-16 in the month. It was an ugly month on and off the field, with the team sinking in the standings and All-Star Jarren Duran being suspended for two games for an inappropriate remark. The suspension ended Duran’s streak of playing in every game for the Sox and it's a blight on what had been a stellar season for the Sox outfielder.
September 2024
The Red Sox welcomed back Story and Casas but the woes continued. The Red Sox had their worst month of the season at the plate, batting just .224 as a team and falling out of wildcard contention. The Sox finished September 11-15 and wrapped up the season at 81-81.
October/November 2024
October was quiet in Boston in another playoff-less fall for the hometown team. To make matters worse, the Yankees rolled into the World Series, but order was restored when the Dodgers claimed the title in a commanding five-game victory.
In November, Red Sox rookie right fielder Wilyer Abreu won a Gold Glove for his work in the outfield last season. Jarren Duran earned a spot on the All-MLB Second Team after leading the league in at-bats with 675 and doubles with 48, tied for the lead in triples (14), scoring 111 runs, and hit 21 home runs. Duran finished 8th in AL MVP voting.
December 2024
The Red Sox made some roster moves in December to bolster the team to compete for a playoff spot next season. On December 3, the Sox added veteran lefty reliever Aroldis Chapman to strengthen their bullpen. One day later, the Sox completed the biggest trade of the offseason so far by acquiring White Sox lefty starter Garrett Crochet for top prospects Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Wikelman Gonzalez and Chase Meidroth.
The team signed former Angels starter Patrick Sandoval to a two-year deal on December 20th. Then, on December 28th, the Sox added Dodgers World Series hero Walker Buehler on a one-year deal. Buehler comes with a history of injuries but also with the potential of No. 1 starter stuff.
In all, 2024 was another up-and-down year for the Red Sox. They improved to 81 wins and continued to develop homegrown talent throughout the system. Still, this organization has won the World Series four times since 2004 and made the playoffs 11 times since 2000. The front office vowed that the team would spend money this offseason, but the jury is still out. They’ve improved the rotation and added some interesting pieces to the bullpen but the team still needs a righty power bat.
There is still time and still players available but the front office must act quickly or this team will ultimately fall short yet again in 2025.