Red Sox playoff elimination reveals most glaring offseason priority

The Boston Red Sox's longshot chance to make the playoffs ended on Sept. 25 in Toronto. But, for the third year in a row, their postseason miss results from a late-season implosion.

Boston resumed play after the All-Star break at a season-high 10 games above .500. Since then, the offense, defense and pitching staff have all had their issues at different times. But the Sox couldn't keep up with their opponents when the bats and bullpen stalled simultaneously in late August.

And when the Royals beat the Nationals to keep their spot in the Wild Card, the Red Sox didn't answer the call. They only scored one run in their season series finale against Toronto but left eight men on base. When they needed to come through, they just couldn't — like Boston's second-half performances from the last two years.

Since 2022, the Red Sox have a .429 winning percentage in the second half. Their late-season woes have been inexplicable. Whether it's exhaustion, lame trade deadline performances, or some combination of both, the front office needs to figure it out this winter.

Despite missing the playoffs, the 2024 Red Sox proved they're worth investment

Luckily for the men in charge, the Red Sox have shown it may not take much work to turn them into a competitive team. The Sox weren't supposed to be in playoff contention for this long — most experts and reporters predicted them to finish in last place in the American League East, yet again.

But Boston's rookies made great strides. Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu have earned spots in the Rookie of the Year discussion, although their chances of winning are slim to none, based on stalled September performances. Tanner Houck pitched like an ace in the first half and Brayan Bello has tightened up in the last few weeks of the campaign. Jarren Duran's breakout season would be worthy of MVP consideration if Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. weren't superhuman. Rob Refsnyder posted the season of his life in what is potentially his last year as an MLB player.

The 2024 Red Sox proved they're worth investment this offseason. They were just games away from contention, and the Wild Card was there for the taking before another post-trade deadline skid.

Boston's top prospects will reach MLB in 2025 if all goes according to plan with their development. The Red Sox's time to add some critical needs is now. The free agent market isn't overflowing with quality offensive options this season, but pitching is the Sox's biggest deficiency.

The front office has the time and money to improve the Red Sox this winter, and the team has given them a solid foundation to build upon by being better than expected this year. Fenway Sports Group needs to spend now to keep the Red Sox in the running with the rest of the AL next season. Their needs cannot be put aside any longer.

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