The Boston Red Sox are coming off of a forgettable 2022 season. The team went 78-84 and was the only team to finish under .500 in the AL East.
This season looks like it could be another miserable one for Red Sox nation as the team sits at 5-8 and lost some key pieces that fans have known to be Red Sox for a long time.
Some of the players on last year's ballclub had to go. Others are already missed and will continued to be not only for the 2023 season, but beyond as well.
1) Every Red Sox fan should be relieved that Matt Barnes is gone
There aren't many more pitchers more frustrating to watch than Matt Barnes. One day he looks like the best reliever in the American League, the next he looks like a reliever who belongs in Single-A Salem.
He was an All-Star in 2021 after posting a 2.61 ERA in his first 38 appearances of the season and recording 19 saves. He'd lose his closer job in August and post a 6.48 ERA in the second half. He went from being an all-star to practically unusable.
Last season, Barnes had an ERA of 7.94 in the first half, continuing his struggles from the end of the 2021 campaign. He'd then flip a switch all of a sudden and post a 1.59 ERA in his final 24 appearances and start saving games at the end of September.
Boston deciding to get rid of him after finishing the season so well didn't make much sense to me, but getting rid of a reliever as frustrating as Barnes was for a large chunk of his tenure with the club was certainly the right move.