3 Red Sox players we’ll be glad are gone in 2024 and 2 we wish stayed
The Boston Red Sox roster has changed a lot since last season. Players have come and gone — some were fan favorites and others overstayed their welcome.
How much better or worse the Red Sox have gotten this offseason is up for debate. So are fans’ opinions of certain players. Boston has made many swaps that cannot be properly projected at this point, meaning the front office didn't even bother to unquestionably replace some of the players it lost.
The Sox lost some popular guys and some that fans will be glad to see in a different uniform this coming season. A few of Boston's losses were necessary while a few could have been prevented with a bit more effort from the front office.
Ownership's direction has influenced so much (more so in a negative manner). The front office changes came rather late, right up against the official end of the season. The emergence of top prospects and other players returning from injury impacted some decisions.
But how will the fans respond?
3 Red Sox players we’ll be glad are gone in 2024 and 2 we wish stayed
Red Sox player fans are glad to see leave: Chris Sale
The Red Sox were finally able to unload Chris Sale this offseason and, despite his pedigree, his departure will probably benefit the team. Red Sox Nation has polarizing opinions of Sale — he’s an elite pitcher with swing-and-miss stuff who helped Boston win a championship, but his constant injuries from 2019-2023 soured everything.
After committing to a five-year extension with Sale worth a whopping $145 million, his injury woes took over. Between 2020 and 2022, Sale made 11 appearances. His 2023 season was also marred by injury after he experienced shoulder discomfort that sent him to the injured list from the beginning of June to mid-August.
Sale can’t be blamed for his injuries and he’s undeniably a great pitcher when he’s fully heathy, but Boston was paying him way too much for him to never be able to play. The Sox will fare better with Vaughn Grissom -- the prospect who came in return from the Braves.
Red Sox player fans will miss: Justin Turner
Boston fell in love with Justin Turner fast. The 15-year MLB veteran is as popular in the clubhouse as he is on the field, and he’s an incredibly valuable player.
But as quickly as he came, Turner was gone. He spent one season with the Red Sox and performed well — so well that many experts and fans imagined he wouldn’t want to return to a team destined for the division’s basement. After he signed with the division-rival Blue Jays however, it became clear that Turner embraced Boston as much as it embraced him.
Soon after new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was hired, Turner reached out to meet with him to discuss a potential return to the Red Sox. It never came to be, and now the Sox are without a versatile infielder and a consistent, right-handed bat with power behind it. More importantly, however, Boston lost an experienced and respected veteran voice in the clubhouse.
Sure, they still have Trevor Story, but the city of Boston rallied around Turner and he led with ease.
Red Sox player fans are glad to see leave: Alex Verdugo
Alex Verdugo was entering the final year of control with the Red Sox and likely would not have been given an extension, so the club capitalized on a trade at the right time. Verdugo played a fine right field at Fenway Park, but his streaky hitting won't be missed.
The 27-year-old was benched twice during the 2023 season for both on-field and off-field incidents, and manager Alex Cora made sure reporters knew that Verdugo was being held accountable. One of the times Verdugo was scratched was for "a lack of hustle," as the issue had been described, which is certainly not anything the 2024 Red Sox need to hear.
Verdugo's tenure with the Sox was overall positive, but underwhelming. He was supposed to be the centerpiece of the Mookie Betts trade to help fans forget about that fateful transactions. Instead, some experiences in 2023 pushed the club to pursue other options for the outfielder.
And if trading Verdugo meant the Sox get a return for his departure as opposed to him leaving in free agency for nothing, not many fans will complain about such a deal. While he played well during his few years in Boston, Red Sox Nation had an easy time saying "goodbye for now" to Verdugo. We'll see him plenty in 2024, though, because he's still in the division as a member of the New York Yankees.
Red Sox player fans will miss: John Schreiber
John Schreiber is Boston's most recent departed player. The front office shipped him to Kansas City in exchange for pitching prospect David Sandlin. Before the trade, Schreiber was one of the Sox's most-used bullpen arms.
Schreiber's 2023 wasn't amazing, but neither was the rest of the team's. His breakout season was in 2022 when he made 64 appearances and logged a 2.22 ERA. The righty recorded 74 strikeouts in 65 innings and he really showed Boston what he was capable of.
Fast forward to 2024, and the Red Sox are desperately trying to cut payroll (without needing to do so) and get value for their few remaining assets, so they sent Schreiber to the Royals for a prospect with starter potential. Fans realize that the organization isn't striving to compete in 2024, but the Schreiber trade didn't necessarily make the future any better. He would have been under contract until 2027 and the team could have dished him for a return at any time — Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin only have one year remaining on their contracts and they're both paid more, which could've saved the team more money.
The 2024 team won't be better after trading Schreiber, and while making the team worse surely wasn't the front office's goal, it's an unfortunate side effect of some trades. This year, the Sox will miss his presence in the bullpen. But in a few years when Sandlin hopefully turns into a big-league starter, losing Schreiber might turn out to be something we forget about rather quickly.
Red Sox player fans are glad to see leave: Kiké Hernández
Kiké Hernández had some great moments in a Red Sox uniform. His 2021 playoff performance was one for the ages — Hernández put up incredible numbers, batting .408 with four doubles, a triple and five homers during Boston's run to the ALCS (where they fell in six games to the Houston Astros).
But after that, Hernández couldn't produce. In 2022, he batted .222/.291/.338 with the Sox and his 2023 numbers only worsened. His defense was also among the worst in the league as he posted a shocking -18 outs above average in 2023.
The Red Sox tried to sell Hernández as a team leader of sorts after Xander Bogaerts walked in free agency and he did not meet team or fan expectations. Boston dished Hernández back to the Dodgers before the 2023 trade deadline and seeing him sign with the Dodgers again on Feb. 26 relieved some fans' anxieties that he may return to Boston.
Hernández has a great personality and is a nice guy to have in the clubhouse, but the Red Sox's defense can't continue to be as bad as it's been in recent years. Hernández contributed to that when he wasn't supposed to, so the team welcoming back Trevor Story while witnessing the emergences of Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela are much more preferable alternatives.
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