BOSTON — Coming off a year in which they finished last in their division and fourth from the bottom in the entire league, the Boston Red Sox enter the 2021 season looking to climb back into playoff contention after some practical – albeit not exciting – moves in the offseason.
Gone are fan-favorites Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr., two-thirds of the ‘Killer B’s’ outfield that helped lead the club to a World Series title in 2018. Benintendi was shipped off to Kansas City in the second trade of a champion outfielder Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom has made during his tenure. Bradley Jr. signed with Milwaukee after a lackluster market this winter.
Longtime leader Dustin Pedroia has also left the team, retiring after playing just six games across the last three seasons. He never suited up for the 24-36 Red Sox of 2020.
In the places of those three familiar faces come new additions like Kiké Hernández, Hunter Renfroe and Franchy Cordero.
The Infield
Hernández, 29, is a jack-of-all-trades utility man that will help shore up a second base position for the Red Sox that has been in flux since Pedroia was felled by a Manny Machado slide in 2017. A member of the 2020 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers – and former teammate of Mookie Betts, remember him? – Hernández brings postseason experience and positional versatility to Boston.
In his seven years in the major leagues, he’s played in three World Series, including the 2018 contest against the Red Sox, and has played every single position besides catcher; he even pitched one-third of an inning for LA in 2018.
Joining him as an infield platoon man will be Marwin Gonzalez, who the Red Sox inked to a one-year, $3 million deal in late February.
The 32-year-old is a nine-year veteran of the MLB, a former World Series champion – albeit for the controversial-at-best 2017 Houston Astros – and has played every position besides catcher and pitcher during his time in the American League.
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Every day players and faces-of-the-franchise Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers will shore up the left side of the Boston infield and provide power in the heart of the batting order.
Bogaerts has hit .300 the last two seasons and has garnered MVP votes in the last three. He’ll be the Red Sox best player again this year and he’s only 28.
Two years removed from a season in which he hit .311 and earned MVP votes, Devers will look to build on a year where he mashed 11 home runs in 57 games. His defense has been his Achilles heel since coming into the league in 2017 with 74 errors already in his career – for comparison, Bogaerts has committed 78 in eight seasons.
But the return of Alex Cora should help Devers on the diamond. The skipper has harped on team defense throughout the course of Spring Training and shown he’s demanding improvement in that area this season.
First base will be held down by 25-year-old Bobby Dalbec, who arrived on the scene last year with eight home runs and a .263 average in 23 games. In Spring Training this year he’s been nothing short of a monster, crushing seven homers, driving in 16 runs and hitting .298 in 47 at-bats. The University of Arizona product will be appointment television every time he steps up to the plate, but his 21 strikeouts in the Grapefruit League mean he’ll either be crushing balls onto Lansdowne Street or walking back to the dugout most at-bats.
Behind the plate, Christian Vazquez has continued to improve in the batter’s box. Two seasons ago he crushed 23 homers while hitting .276. Last year he upped his average to .283. When he’s not manning the backstop, Kevin Plawecki will assume the catching duties.
The Outfield
One of two big question marks for the Red Sox this season will be how their outfield shapes up. Gone are the days of Betts, Bradley and Benintendi (pour one out for the win-dance-repeat days of old). Now, we’ll be seeing some combination of Alex Verdugo and Hunter Renfroe in center and right field.
Verdugo was one of the lone bright spots a season ago for the hometown team. He hit .308, dazzled in the outfield and made you almost forget who the Red Sox traded for him in the pre-pandemic days of 2020. Boston will need him to build off of a great first year with the club if they hope to compete for a Wild Card spot.
Renfroe reached a one-year, $3.1 million deal with the Sox in December after a World Series run with the Tampa Bay Rays a season ago. He’s spent the majority of his five-year career patrolling right field for the San Diego Padres, but does he have the range to cover the expansive right field at Fenway or the speed to track deep fly balls hit to the triangle in center? That remains to be seen.
In left field, the Red Sox face more of a question mark than they do at center and right (paging Hanley Ramirez and Blake Swihart). The likely answer to who will have to learn the gives and takes of the Green Monster is Franchy Cordero, who you may know as the return for Benintendi.
Cordero, 26, has played less than a full season’s worth of games across four years in the MLB, working his way through the minors with both the Padres and the Royals. He’s expected to start the season in left field for the Red Sox.
And while J.D. Martinez could figure into the Red Sox outfield plans, the slugger will more than likely remain the designated hitter, especially given the returns of Alex Cora and in-game video for players to review. Both were around in the 2018 and 2019 seasons where Martinez was a plus-.300 hitter hitting more than 30 home runs a year. He hit just .213 without either in 2020.
Starting Pitching
There’s no better example of the differences between the 2018 World Series-winning Red Sox and the lackluster sequels that have followed them the last two years than starting pitching.
In 2020, the Red Sox wheeled out to the mound a collection of unknown starters from far and wide. Names like Zack Godley, Mike Kickham and Kyle Hart toed the rubber to open games for the club a season ago.
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And while the Red Sox have some new blood in their rotation – not to mention names you’ve actually heard of – their starting pitching is easily the team’s fatal flaw heading into the season.
Eduardo Rodriguez, two years removed from a great 2019 campaign where he earned Cy Young votes, was set to return after missing all of last season with COVID-19 and then a related myocarditis condition in his heart. But the Red Sox scratched Rodriguez from his start, citing “dead arm” for the lefty. A stint on the Injured List potentially looms for him.
Stepping in to fill the void is Nathan Eovaldi, he of World Series fame. The problem for the Red Sox is that he’s started just 21 games since his postseason heroics and subsequent contract extension by Dave Dombrowski. What’s worse, in 2019, the last full season, he had a 5.99 ERA. He’ll have to be better this year.
Martin Perez is back in the rotation; he’ll add some nice depth to staff that is lacking in front-end starters. Joining him on the backend of the rotation will be Nick Pivetta – with his career 5.40 ERA – and Garrett Richards, who’s started fewer games the last two seasons than Eovaldi and has struggled to be the same pitcher since a gruesome knee injury suffered at Fenway as a member of the Angels in 2014.
Chris Sale continues to recover from Tommy John surgery, though his expected return timeline continues to be murky. A return to form by him would be a major boon for the Red Sox. Any return at all by him would still be an upgrade.
The Bullpen
If there’s another area of strength this season for the Red Sox besides their lineup, it’s their bullpen.
They’ve added right-handers Adam Ottavino (shoutout Northeastern University baseball) and international pitcher Hirokazu Sawamura to compete alongside Matt Barnes for the closer job. They’ve also brought back Phillips Valdez, who had a promising 3.26 ERA a season ago in just over 30 innings pitched.
Josh Taylor and Darwinzon Hernandez give the team good left-handed options as well. And we’ll see if a return to 2018-level is in the cards for Ryan Brasier.
One guy to keep an eye out for is Rule 5 player Garrett Whitlock, who has to remain on the roster or be returned to the New York Yankees. That the Red Sox have him in the bullpen coming out of Spring Training is a sign there’s something to watch for in the hard-throwing right-hander.
The Red Sox aren’t back to being premiere contenders for the World Series like they were a few seasons ago. But hopefully gone are the doldrums of bad, unwatchable baseball that plagued Boston a year ago during a summer clamoring for live sports.
The team will compete and will aim to nip at the heels of the rising Toronto Blue Jays and the falling Rays in the AL East – the likely first-place Yankees won’t be close enough to catch by season’s end. If things break right – very, very right – the team will be in the mix for one of the two Wild Card spots available.
As 2013 showed Red Sox fans, surprises, even big ones, can happen coming off down years. Just likely not this season.
The Boston 25 Sports staff, along with myself, put together a list of predictions for the upcoming Major League Baseball season. Check it out below to see who Tom and Butch think will wear the crown at the end of the season.
Tom Leyden – Sports Anchor
Division winners
- AL East – Yankees
- AL Central – Royals
- AL West – A’s
- NL East – Braves
- NL Central – Cubs
- NL West – Dodgers
Wild Card teams
- AL – White Sox, Rays
- NL – Padres, Marlins
Postseason
- ALCS – Yankees over White Sox in 6
- NLCS – Braves over Dodgers in 5
- World Series – Yankees over Braves in 6
The American League is the Yankees’ to win. Can the pitching staff stay healthy and will the bashers bash all season? Don’t forget the Rays success in 2020; I think that will carry over to a postseason berth in 2021. While many people are picking the White Sox in the Central, I’ll go with Kansas City and give Chicago one of my wild card spots. The A’s are always in the mix, no matter the circumstances. They just hang around. One thing you can always count on is the Angels not being able to get it done.
In the National League, it was hard for me to keep the Mets out of the playoff mix, but I think the Marlins are the club that will challenge the Braves for the Eastern Division title. Both will make the postseason, while only the Cubs will come from the Central. The Dodgers-Padres race will be the most entertaining throughout the season, but again, both teams will make the postseason.
Butch Stearns – Sports Anchor
Division winners
- AL East – Yankees
- AL Central – White Sox
- AL West – Texas Rangers
- NL East – Braves
- NL Central – Brewers
- NL West – Dodgers
Wild Card teams
- AL – Blue Jays and Red Sox
- NL – Padres and Mets
Postseason
- ALCS – Yankees over White Sox in 6
- NLCS – Braves over Dodgers in 7
- World Series – Braves over Yankees in 7
As much as I hate to say it, the Yankees are too strong and, if their pitching stays healthy, it’s the best in the American League. In the Central, this is the year the White Sox blossom. They have the right mix with top to bottom pitching with Luis Giolito and Liam Hendriks, and a lineup with pop and emerging talent in Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert and Andrew Vaughn. The Rangers are my surprise team for 2021 for one reason: Brock Holt.
In the NL, the Braves are ready. They have it all, young emerging talent in Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson, deep pitching with Max Fried, Charlie Morton, Ian Anderson and more, and now they have some playoff experience. The overall depth of talent in Milwaukee gives the Brewers the Central crown and my not-so-surprise pick. And it turns out money can buy a championship with a Dodgers lineup led by Mookie Betts and the best pitching in baseball.
As far as the World Series goes, I just can’t bring myself to pick the Yankees to win.
Chad Amaral – Sports Producer
Division winners
- AL East – Yankees
- AL Central – White Sox
- AL West – Astros
- NL East – Braves
- NL Central – Cardinals
- NL West – Padres
Wild Card teams
- AL – Red Sox, Athletics
- NL – Dodgers, Mets
Postseason
- ALCS – Yankees over White Sox in 5
- NLCS – Padres over Dodgers in 6
- World Series – Padres over Yankees in 7
The Yankees will be the team to beat in the American League with their deep pitching staff and loaded lineup. The Dodgers’ quest for a repeat will be ended by the Padres whose revamped pitching staff, and talented lineup will help them get their revenge for last year’s postseason. Blake Snell will also get a chance at World Series redemption against the Yankees, and Fernando Tatis Jr., will officially stake his claim as the face of baseball with a World Series win and MVP trophy.
Mike Pitts – Sports Producer
Division winners
- AL East – Yankees
- AL Central – White Sox
- AL West – Angels
- NL East – Braves
- NL Central – Cardinals
- NL West – Padres
Wild Card teams
- AL – Blue Jays, Rays
- NL – Dodgers, Mets
Postseason
- ALCS – Yankees over White Sox in 5
- NLCS – Braves over Padres in 7
- World Series – Braves over Yankees in 6
It pains me to say, but if the Yankees can stay healthy, especially their pitching, then it’s pretty much their division and American League to lose. The White Sox have some good young talent and maybe some magic in the return of Ton LaRussa. And speaking of divine intervention, this could be the year the Angels finally top the AL West again (maybe with some more help from Christopher Lloyd).
In the National League, the Braves came close to winning the pennant last year, I think this could be their year. The Cardinals’ hopes come down to two words: Nolan Arenado. And while everyone will say the Dodgers keep the west, the Padres have bolstered their pitching staff and could make a run for the division title this year.
Dave Souza, Digital Producer
Division winners
- AL East – Yankees
- AL Central – White Sox
- AL West – Astros
- NL East – Braves
- NL Central – Cardinals
- NL West – Dodgers
Wild Card teams
- AL – A’s and Twins
- NL – Padres and Mets
Postseason
- ALCS – White Sox over Yankees in 7
- NLCS – Padres over Braves in 6
- World Series – Padres over White Sox in 6
The kids will be more than alright in 2021 with two of the best young teams playing their way into late October. In the AL, the Yankees will again be on the cusp of the World Series and again will fall just short. The Dodgers and Padres will be the two best teams in the NL, but the MLB’s playoff format means that the NLCS matchup we’ve been dreaming about will be an NLDS battle instead.
And while Tony La Russa’s postseason pedigree will be a feather in the caps of the White Sox, battling the Dodgers all year will put the Padres over the top when it counts. Iron sharpens iron.