In the same offseason that the Red Sox lost Justin Turner to free agency, another former Red Sox third baseman was inducted into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot appearance. Adrián Beltré received overwhelming support from the writers in the BBWAA during this Hall of Fame election cycle.
The lack of offseason moves and John Henry looking to lower the Red Sox's payroll brought up the age-old question: who are the best players that only played one season with the Red Sox?
The question leaves us wondering what could've been. Many of these decisions to let players walk backfired on the Sox, especially in the case of Beltré, whom Theo Epstein decided to replace with Carl Crawford, one of the biggest flops in Red Sox history.
Whether you believe the Red Sox should have re-signed these players or not, we shine a spotlight on four players who were only on the Red Sox for a single season but left a major impact during their short stint in Boston.
4 biggest one-hit wonders in Red Sox franchise history
Adrián Beltré
Let's address the most obvious name first — Beltré. He was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame with 95.1% of the vote and Beltré made an undeniable impact during his one season with the Red Sox.
In his sole season with the Red Sox in 2010, Beltré amassed an impressive 6.4 fWAR in 154 games, ranking 12th in baseball for that season. He also delivered exceptionally on the offensive side of his tenure at Fenway Park, boasting a triple slash of .321/.365/.553, hitting 28 home runs, and leading the league with 49 doubles. This earned him All-Star recognition for the first time in his career in his sole season in Boston.
After his career-altering season, the Red Sox chose not to match the six-year, $96 million deal Beltré was offered by the Rangers. The Sox pivoted to trading for Padres All-Star Adrian Gonzalez, who also had quite a short tenure in Boston.