3 offseason decisions the Red Sox are paying for right now
The Red Sox are regretting these three offseason mistakes that see them tied for last place in the AL East
The Boston Red Sox have surprised even their most optimistic fans by remaining in postseason contention despite playing in one of the toughest divisions we've seen in years. Boston might be on the outside looking in right now when it comes to a postseason spot, but are 49-44 on the season and are just 2.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot in the American League.
Winners of eight of their last 10 games, the Red Sox have played great baseball of late, and should be getting Trevor Story back sooner than later. That should help them even more.
While the team is competitive, Chaim Bloom didn't exactly have a perfect offseason. Had he not made these offseason mistakes, Boston might've been one of the teams in a postseason spot right now.
The Red Sox are paying for signing Corey Kluber instead of a different starting pitcher
After three injury-riddled seasons from 2019-2021 in which he was limited to just 24 starts for Cleveland, Texas, and the Yankees, the Rays signed two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber to a one-year deal. While he wasn't Cy Young-caliber, Kluber did give Tampa Bay 31 starts and a 4.34 ERA with a 3.57 FIP in 31 starts and 164 innings pitched last season.
Boston wasn't going to go out and sign an ace this past offseason, but they did need some rotation help. They felt that Kluber, a pitcher who finally found a way to navigate through a full season, would provide the presence they needed in the rotation. They signed him to a one-year deal worth $10 million. This felt like a decent deal at the time. It's turned out to be anything but.
Through 15 appearances (nine starts) Kluber has a 7.04 ERA in 55 innings of work. He's already walked the same amount of. hitters this season (21) as he did all of last season, with nearly as many home runs (17) as he gave up last season (20). His strikeouts are down, and everything you don't want to see shoot up has shot up.
Kluber was bumped from Boston's rotation in May after posting a 6.26 ERA, and things haven't gone much better in the bullpen as he boasts an ERA of 9.45 as a reliever. He deserves some credit for taking on whatever role Boston has given him without complaining, but things have gone just about as poorly as Chaim Bloom could've imagined with this signing.
Boston has one of the worst rotations in all of baseball. Injuries have played a role in that, but signing someone other than Kluber would've almost certainly helped.
The Red Sox are paying for not acquiring a healthy shortstop this offseason
The Red Sox let Xander Bogaerts walk to San Diego on a monster contract. Losing him definitely hurt, but Bogaerts hasn't exactly lit the world on fire in San Diego since April. He has a .732 OPS and a 106 OPS+ on the season. Letting him go isn't the problem. Doing nothing to replace him is.
The Red Sox gave Kiké Hernandez the reigns as the everyday shortstop to begin the year, and their plan to do so backfired. His 14 errors at shortstop are tied for the league lead despite him playing the 24th-most innings at the position. To go along with the defense, he has a 61 WRC+ and has been worth -1.3 fWAR. Not great.
Hernandez isn't the only shortstop on the team that has struggled. Pablo Reyes has had a decent offensive season relative to expectations, but despite hitting over .300 he has a WRC+ of 90 thanks to not walking nearly enough and hitting for no power. Yu Chang, their best defensive option most likely, hasn't hit.
It's not their fault completely that Adalberto Mondesi hasn't played yet, but when you hedge your bets on an injured player, you can't blame anyone but yourself when he has a setback. Even when healthy, it's not like Mondesi would do much to help offensively anyway even if he can help defensively and on the base paths.
Red Sox shortstops have a 61 WRC+ (27th in MLB) and have been worth -1.2 fWAR (29th in MLB). They didn't even have to sign Xander Bogaerts or any of the top shortstop options, just signing anyone who can play a decent shortstop would help. Trevor Story returning should help, but they didn't have to navigate the first half with pathetic shortstop play.
The Red Sox are paying for letting J.D. Martinez walk
Let me get this out of the way. The Red Sox offense is not the issue. It'd be nice if they were more consistent at times, but they're not fifth in runs scored by accident. This is a great unit with the potential for even more with Story returning soon and Rafael Devers hopefully heating up. That doesn't mean they made the right choice involving J.D. Martinez.
Letting Martinez go in free agency felt like a simple decision. He had such a disappointing season in 2022, posting a .790 OPS with 16 home runs, but he's revived his career with the Dodgers after signing a one-year deal with them.
Martinez is hitting .255/.304/.576 with 23 home runs and 63 RBI. He has a 130 WRC+ and has been everything Los Angeles could've possibly hoped for. I won't say he's vintage J.D., but he's been awesome.
Martinez would be leading this Red Sox team in home runs and OPS while ranking second in RBI. It's not like Boston has gotten no production out of the DH spot this season. Justin Turner has been more than adequate in that role. However, J.D. Martinez as the DH would've taken this offense to another level.
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