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.