4 offseason moves that hurt the Red Sox most heading into 2024

Orioles trading for Corbin Burnes

The Orioles' acquisition of Corbin Burnes was arguably the most shocking moment of the offseason. Just days after the sale of the team was announced, Baltimore awoke out of nowhere to nab Burnes from the Brewers for an astonishingly favorable price.

The Orioles have the best farm system in MLB and used it to their advantage in more ways than one. Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday would've created enough trouble for the Red Sox on their own, but adding Burnes by trading prospects puts the nail in Boston's coffin. With the addition of an ace, the Orioles' roster has everything it needs to compete at the highest level.

Like Baltimore, Boston has a quality farm system with an excess of young position player talent. But unlike Baltimore in the Burnes trade, Boston has shown a reluctance to use its prospects to help the current team. The Red Sox's futuristic mindset is holding them in the basement and in the past while every team around them improves.

The talent in the Red Sox's prospect pool could afford to be shuffled around. Boston has many highly touted prospects at its disposal and it could've swung a trade for Dylan Cease or Burnes to fix its rotational woes, especially if the Brewers were willing to accept the bargain Baltimore presented them.