3 former Red Sox players failing miserably with their new team in 2023
The Boston Red Sox have had an up-and-down start to the 2023 season. They sit at 14-14 which isn't too bad, but the pitching has been horrendous, and the team sits in last place in the ridiculously-good AL East.
Boston had an eventful offseason. The Masataka Yoshida signing was a good one, and he's swung the bat well in the early going. Justin Turner has been solid, while Kenley Jansen seems to be turning back the clock with a good start to his season as well. While most of the additions have performed, the talk of the offseason was about the subtractions.
Xander Bogaerts has gone to San Diego and carried that team through the first month of the season. Red Sox fans miss him and for good reason. J.D. Martinez has looked solid in Los Angeles, and Matt Strahm has looked good in a starting pitcher role for Philadelphia. It stings to see these players perform well on other teams, but there're other players Boston should be thankful they either traded away or let walk in free agency.
1) Former Red Sox player failing with his new team: Tommy Pham
Tommy Pham was at the center of a very weird trade deadline for the Boston Red Sox. They couldn't seem to decide whether they wanted to buy or sell, so they decided to do a little bit of both. They traded guys like Jake Diekman and Christian Vazquez away, but also acquired players like Eric Hosmer and Tommy Pham.
The half-buy half-sell approach didn't make much sense, and Pham didn't do much of anything in his time in Boston. He had a .672 OPS and was the primary leadoff hitter on a Red Sox team that wasn't going anywhere.
Pham signed a one-year deal to join the Mets in more of a reduced role. He was brought in primarily to hit left-handed pitching. He's their primary DH against southpaws, and has slashed .194/.250/.361 with two home runs and five RBI in those spots. Not ideal.
Pham has a 76 OPS+ which is actually worse than the 86 OPS+ he had in Boston. Pham in a reduced role playing in a role he should succeed in hasn't done much of anything for a team that should be good in 2023.
2) Former Red Sox player failing with his new team: Michael Wacha
This I could've predicted. Michael Wacha pitched well for Boston last season, posting a 3.32 ERA in 23 starts. His issue was the advanced metrics did not support his low ERA whatsoever, and it felt inevitable that he'd regress.
There's a reason Wacha didn't sign with a team until very late in the offseason. The Padres were the team to eventually sign the right-hander, and they gave him a four-year deal. Things haven't gone swimmingly in Southern California for him.
Wacha has a 6.75 ERA in his first five starts and 25.1 innings pitched. He's had one good start sandwiched between two alright starts and two awful ones.
He pitched six scoreless innings in Atlanta with ten strikeouts in his second start of the season. That's great. In his other four starts he's gone 19.1 innings, and has allowed 19 runs on 31 hits with six walks and 13 strikeouts. Not good at all.
Wacha would fit right in with the rest of this Red Sox rotation which is not a compliment. I hope he does turn it around because he did pitch well for the Sox last season when it felt like virtually nobody else did, but it's been brutal so far.
3) Former Red Sox player failing with his new team: Matt Barnes
It felt like Matt Barnes had the highest of highs and lowest of lows in Boston. There were times when it looked like he was impossible to hit, and there were other times when he couldn't get anybody out.
The Red Sox finally had enough when they DFA'd Barnes and wound up trading him to the Marlins for Richard Bleier. The new Red Sox southpaw hasn't been a great addition, but Barnes isn't doing much better in South Florida.
The veteran right-hander is primarily being used in low-leverage spots and has a 4.91 ERA in his first 11 appearances. Barnes has not earned the trust of new Marlins manager Skip Schumaker to pitch in higher-leverage spots, and the Marlins are 15-13 right now with Barnes being a non-factor.
Barnes does have a win, but has just one hold and no save opportunities. He's made two appearances in the eighth inning, most of his work has been in the sixth or seventh. Even with that, his ERA is approaching 5.00.
What I will say is with Chris Martin out, Barnes would probably be the third-best reliever on this team, which is frustrating to say the least. Barnes isn't missed in Boston, but the Red Sox bullpen is an issue.
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