5 truths about 2023 Red Sox that have fans fuming
Subpar pitching, putrid defense, and more that went wrong this season
The Boston Red Sox have officially clinched...last place in the AL East. They sit at 76-82 (.481) and have been eliminated from playoff contention.
While hopes were not necessarily high to start the season, there was certainly a chance for this team to sneak into the playoffs. Alas, they did not, and here are five reasons why — regardless of whether or not you want to hear them.
The Red Sox wasted a solid offensive season
Per FanGraphs, the Red Sox finished with the third-best average, third-best batting average on balls in play, seventh-best OPS, and ninth-most runs scored in all of baseball. Led by Devers and Casas, their lineup was — at times — one of the better lineups in baseball.
Yet, among the ten teams with the highest OPS, nine currently have a playoff spot. Only the Sox do not. Among the 11 teams with the highest AVG, ten have a playoff spot. Only the Sox do not.
How have they hit so well and not come close to a playoff spot? Part of the story is their weak pitching, which we'll turn to next.
The Red Sox had the 10th worst team ERA in baseball
The Red Sox team ERA sits at 4.59, the 10h worst in baseball and fifth worst in the American League.
No starter with 10 or more starts has an ERA below 4.20. Kutter Crawford pitched to a 4.23 ERA, Brayan Bello to a 4.24, Nick Pivetta to a 4.25, Chris Sale to a 4.42, James Paxton to a 4.50, and Tanner Houck to a 5.31.
Their relievers pitched slightly better, but their 4.32 bullpen ERA still sits at 11th worst in baseball.
These struggles can partially be attributed to numerous injuries. Former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber only threw 55 innings, as he dealt with a lingering shoulder injury throughout the year. Additionally, Houck dealt with lower back issues and a facial fracture, Whitlock experienced elbow problems, Paxton missed time due to his hamstring and knee, and Sale missed a large chunk of the season with shoulder inflammation.
The Red Sox had one of the worst defenses in baseball
The Red Sox had the second most errors in baseball and the most in the AL with 101. In terms of the advanced metrics, they ranked sixth worst in DRS with -22 (defensive runs saved) and dead last in OAA with -50 (outs above average).
A few of their biggest liabilities are Devers and Kike Hernandez. Devers has 19 errors — tied for third-most in baseball — and Kike has 14 — tied for seventh most in baseball. Catcher Connor Wong was also tied for the second most errors among catchers with 11.
Finally, among the 20 players with the worst OAA in baseball, four of them were Red Sox (Kike, Casas, Devers, and Yoshida).
Chris Sale and Trevor Story made $47.5 million this season
The Sox paid Chris Sale $27.5 million and Trevor Story $20 million this season, a combined $47.5 million. They were the Red Sox's two highest-paid players, as well. Unfortunately, their salaries are not positively correlated to their performance (or their health).
Sale started 19 games and pitched just 97.2 innings, as he dealt with shoulder problems. Story played 39 games and had just 143 at-bats, as he dealt with elbow problems.
Beyond their lingering health issues, the two players did not perform well in the limited time that they did play. Sale pitched to a 4.42 ERA — the second worst in his career — and Story had a .196 AVG and .544 OPS.
Story and Sale have not only hurt the Red Sox payroll but have hurt their performance as a team. Story has a career .836 OPS and Sale has a career 3.11 ERA. At some point in their careers, they were each among the best that played at their respective positions. If they could perform at or even just close to that level again, this team could easily be looking at a playoff spot. And yet, the two former All-Stars have contributed little to nothing, despite accounting for more than 25% of the Red Sox total payroll.
The Red Sox will suffer their third last-place finish in four seasons
Finally, these Red Sox struggles are not new to this season. Since their title in 2018, they have missed the playoffs in four out of the past seasons. Even worse, they have finished last in the AL East three times in the last four years (2020, 2022, and 2023). The thrilling, post-World Series potential for a dynasty is long gone.
Now, despite their disappointing seson, there is also a lot to look forward to next year. Rookies Casas and Yoshida each had wonderful seasons, Durran had a great bounceback year after a tough 2022, Chris Martin is suddenly an absolute dog (if you will), and prospects Rafaela, Abreu, and Valdez have all looked solid in the short time that they played. And who knows, maybe the front office goes ballistic and signs Shohei or trades for Trout.
Regardless, the 2023 season is coming to a sort of bittersweet end, as fans will sadly not have the Sox to watch come October but will have a young, eager, and potentially revamped team to watch come 2024.
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