It is hard to decide what to think of the Boston Red Sox going forward. They certainly aren't a bad team per se as they are above .500 and have one of the better offenses in the American League in 2023. They also have some talented young players on the roster and Rafael Devers continues to do Rafael Devers things.
However, you would still be hard-pressed to say with confidence that Boston will be much better than they are right now in 2024. The starting pitching situation is concerning and there isn't much help coming from the minor leagues. It even feels like Chaim Bloom and the rest of the front office doesn't know where the team stands given their inaction at the trade deadline.
We will get some clarity on much of this once the offseason gets under way and the first step is to figure out which of the Red Sox's pending free agents they need to try and keep and who the team needs to let walk.
Here are 3 pending free agents the Red Sox need to let walk, 2 they need to try to keep
As with anything, a lot of these decisions will ultimately come down to price and whether the team and the player agree on value. For some of the guys that seem like guys Boston should move on from, bringing them back on a super cheap and/or minor league deal still can make sense. For guys that Boston should want to keep, that may also not make sense if the two sides are too far apart on the money. These decisions are very fluid as the details do, in fact, matter.
Let's take a look at some of Boston's pending free agents they should let go and a couple that make sense to keep around.