Looking to the future for Sox
Team has reasons to believe things can turn around
There’s no doubt that 2020 was an unmitigated disaster for the Red Sox, but that doesn’t mean it’s all doom and gloom at Fenway Park.
Believe it or not, there actually are reasons to be optimistic about this team going into 2021. We compiled some of them to give you some hope as the Red Sox enter a critical winter:
1. A new manager
Ron Roenicke did a fine job under almost impossible circumstances in 2020, but the Red Sox will benefit from a new — or even old — voice in 2021. The last two times the Red Sox hired a new manager — John Farrell in 2013, Alex Cora in 2018 — they won the World Series.
A championship is obviously far from guaranteed after how the Red Sox looked this season, but crazier things have happened. All eyes will be on Cora, whose suspension from the Astros’ cheating scandal runs out after the World Series. Do the Red Sox want him back? Does Cora even want to
manage again? Those are questions still unanswered, which will just continue to drive the speculation.
Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom certainly could have his own pool of candidates. He has history with Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, who was a finalist for the Giants job last year. Diamondbacks coach Luis
Urueta and Athletics quality control coach Mark Kotsay were also linked to the Red Sox last winter when they parted ways with Cora.
2. The returns of Sale, Rodriguez
The Red Sox’ starting rotation may have finished strong but it didn’t mask the season-long issues at the top of the staff, where only Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez could be counted on at the beginning of the season. But Eovaldi and Perez should only realistically be viewed as middle to back-end rotation starters for a championship team. They need their top-end guys back.
Enter Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez, who are expected to return at some point in 2021. Sale is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, and should realistically be back by June or July. Rodriguez missed the season due to myocarditis, a complication he developed from COVID-19, and his return is complicated. The lefty just started walking again last week, but the Red Sox expect him to have a normal offseason and be ready to go for spring training in February.
Best-case scenario, the Red Sox have them both back for most of the 2021 season. And though it’s unclear just how sharp they will be after both missing more than a year, their mere presence should provide a big boost for this rotation.
3. Verdugo’s encore
No, he’s not Mookie Betts. But the Red Sox could have done much worse in that trade than getting Alex Verdugo, who had a strong debut season with the Red Sox. He got it done on offense and defense, finishing in the Top 10 of the American League in batting average, hits and doubles and tied for the MLB lead with seven outfield assists.
Then there’s his energy.
If you didn’t catch many games this season, Verdugo plays with a certain edge and passion that Boston fans will love, especially as they’re allowed back into the ballpark. If he can continue to produce like he did in 2020 and the Red Sox can be competitive again, he should quickly become one of the most popular players in the city.
4. Devers, Martinez should dominate again
After another slow start to the season, Rafael Devers rounded into form during a 26-game stretch from Aug. 18 to Sept. 17 in which he hit .346 with nine doubles, nine homers and 31 RBIs. That’s the kind of offensive production that was expected of Devers after his monster 2019 season, and assuming 2021 is back to a full 162-game schedule, it’s realistic to think the budding superstar’s overall numbers will more accurately reflect that monthlong stretch this season.
The same should also go for J.D. Martinez, who obviously had the worst season of his career across the board. With a long track record of making adjustments, it’s fair to hope that 2020 was just an aberration and that he should be back to being the dominant hitter that he is in 2021.
5. Next for Houck?
After Tanner Houck’s third and final start of the season, Roenicke said Bloom had a big smile on his face. And for good reason. The right-hander made as good of a first impression as one could, striking out 21 batters and allowing just one run over 17 innings -- all against playoff teams in the Marlins, Yankees and Braves.
For a starting rotation that lacked quality throughout much of the season, Houck’s stellar debut was a breath of fresh air and a big reason to be excited going into 2021, when he should slot in to a regular spot in the rotation. He’s moving to Florida this offseason to continue his development and specifically work on his splitter.