5 New Year's Resolutions for the Red Sox in 2024
The Red Sox were busy during the final week of 2023, but glaring holes still exist on the roster.
In the waning days of the 2023 calendar year, Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was hard at work, negotiating several high-level transactions and working to improve the club ahead of the upcoming season.
Despite Breslow’s efforts, there are still glaring holes on the Red Sox’ roster and concerns about how the front office will operate under the watchful eyes (and tight budget) of ownership.
Here are five New Year’s Resolutions for the Red Sox to consider with Spring Training set to arrive next month.
Be aggressive
No fanbase wants their team to roll over and settle for mediocrity (or worse). That’s especially true for big-market clubs with an extensive history of winning and success.
In order to achieve positive results year after year, the Red Sox must be aggressive. This means taking some chances and, above all else, spending money. While nobody is advocating for the Red Sox to make rash or ill-advised financial decisions, entering a bidding war for another key starter or middle-of-the-order bat would demonstrate that this franchise’s ultimate goal is to get back on track and win baseball games.
Adding Lucas Giolito and swapping Chris Sale for Vaughn Grissom was a great start, but there need to be more moves in the works. Signing Teoscar Hernández, signing Jordan Montgomery, or trading for Jesus Luzardo are a few ways the Red Sox can showcase their aggressiveness and improve their chance of being competitive in the AL East.
Solidify the rotation
Coming out of Spring Training last season, the Red Sox were somewhat frantic in scrambling to put together a five-man rotation. Tanner Houck and Nick Pivetta, who were both bullpen candidates after rough spring outings, ultimately did sneak their way into the starting mix. Alex Cora was forced to include them in the rotation amidst injuries to Garrett Whitlock, Brayan Bello, and James Paxton.
Injuries happen, and the Red Sox need to be better prepared for such a scenario in 2024. This year, if a couple of starters suffer injuries or underperform, the club must have enough depth in place so that they’re not left to pray for a miracle from spot starters.
Make decisions on Jarren Duran, Bobby Dalbec
At this point, it feels like a Bobby Dalbec trade is long overdue. His name has been floated in rumors for over a year, including last Spring Training when the Red Sox experimented with playing him at various infield positions to boost his trade value. He’s not a reliable middle infielder, but is blocked at the corner infield spots by Rafael Devers and Triston Casas. One would imagine that the Red Sox might benefit more from trading him than simply keeping him in Triple-A.
You could make a similar argument about Jarren Duran, though his case is a little more complicated after his career year in 2023. As we wait for the 2024 season to get underway, the Red Sox must decide whether last year’s big campaign was a fluke or if he really can be an everyday player. If he’s a candidate for regression, it might be smart to capitalize on his strong season and trade him for prospects or big-leaguers at a position of need. If the Red Sox think he’s only going to get better, then perhaps an extension to negate arbitration years would make sense.
Extend Bello, Casas
Brayan Bello and Triston Casas are no longer in “wait and see” mode. They were arguably the Red Sox’ biggest bright spots of the 2023 season, and it became clear that the two young stars should be extended long-term. In recent months, Red Sox Nation has stormed to social media to plead that the front office sign Bello and Casas to extensions.
Doing so would allow the Red Sox to benefit in a way similar to the Braves. Atlanta has become notorious for signing its young stars to cheaper deals early in their careers, rather than spending top dollar right before they hit free agency. Naturally, this does carry some risk because the player being extended is still somewhat unproven, at least relative to where they could be a few years down the road. However, if it works out, the club is left with a superstar making far less than their market value for many years to come.
In the midst of the chaos, this off-season is still the best time to extend Casas and Bello. pic.twitter.com/XoG3lgxrkW
— It’s Yoh-time (@itsyohtime) December 19, 2023
Strengthen the farm system
Fans like to see immediate results at the big-league level, so this may not feel like a huge priority. However, using the farm system as a way to supply eventual major-league talent is imperative, especially for a club struggling to lure free agents.
Through draft selections and trades, enhancing the farm system is one area where Dave Dombrowski and Chaim Bloom were actually both quite successful, despite their vastly different styles of operating. Having a top-10 farm system gives a team additional trade flexibility while simultaneously showing both fans and prospective free agents that the club is committed to winning long-term. Boston has started to form a strong pipeline, but there is still significant room for improvement, especially on the mound. According to Baseball America, even Boston's improved farm system failed to make the top 10 in Statcast's pitching rankings and the top 8 offensively. Dillon Lawson's hire could help that, but the Sox simply must crack at least the offensive list next season.
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