The Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox are off to an incredibly cold start and could soon find themselves in big trouble if they aren’t careful.
After falling to the San Diego Padres on Sunday to lose a third consecutive series, Boston sunk to the worst record in MLB, at 2-7. After losing to the Milwaukee Brewers the night after, the Sox fell to 2-8 for only the fourth time since World War II.
Right fielder Wilyer Abreu is one of the only players who’s performed up to expectations so far. The two-time Gold Glover continues to shine defensively, but it’s his bat that has really stood out.
Through 10 games, Abreu is batting .400 and leads the team with three home runs.
Nearly everyone else on the roster has been disappointing so far, especially third baseman Caleb Durbin and shortstop Trevor Story.
Durbin’s struggles have been especially unfortunate because he was acquired as a replacement for previous third basemen Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman — two players the Sox have been criticized heavily for letting walk. Durbin started the season 0-19 at the plate and is batting only .125 through ten games.
Boston’s pitching has been remarkably underwhelming for a team that was built around its rotation.
Ranger Suarez has not looked like a $130 million player. In his two outings, he has given up eight earned runs and has failed to pitch more than 4.1 innings in a start.
He’s a pitcher who relies on control rather than velocity, but he’s hung a few too many right over the plate.
The World Baseball Classic derailed Suarez’s preseason ramp-up, and the season has hardly begun, so there’s no need to overreact quite yet. Still, he needs to improve quickly if Boston wants a chance at winning his starts.
If Boston is going to rely on run prevention, it can’t be losing games in which it scored six runs on back-to-back nights.
The Red Sox have struggled to put up runs, and when they finally show some life offensively, the pitching and defense blow the game. It’s unacceptable.
Owner John Henry is trying and failing to run the Red Sox like a successful small-market team.
Teams like the Brewers know exactly when to add or depart from a player, while the Sox make decisions out of panic and desperation.
Under Henry, Breslow has displayed what’s wrong with Boston’s current strategy.
Deciding to settle for a lesser offensive roster because you feel good about your pitching staff is foolish. You can’t rely on one side of the ball for long-term success.
A successful team won’t have good pitchers but bad hitters or vice versa. Both are needed, and the Red Sox currently have neither.
Breslow has also authored some pretty questionable trades during his tenure.
It’s too early to judge the trades for Durbin or pitcher Johan Oviedo, although neither look great right now.
We can, however, judge the deal Breslow made for Dustin May at the trade deadline last season.
The Sox gave up two prospects, including outfielder and first baseman James Tibbs III, for half a year of May. In five starts with Boston, May posted a 5.40 ERA and a -0.3 WAR.
Tibbs III, a first-round pick in 2024 whom the Sox acquired from the San Francisco Giants in the Rafael Devers deal, is now with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the Dodgers’ minor-league system, Tibbs III has a 1.719 OPS and has mashed seven home runs in nine games.
A young first base prospect that can hit dingers — is this not exactly the type of player the Red Sox would want in their system right now?
Well, they had him, but decided a rental of a subpar pitcher was worth giving him up — nice work, Breslow.
The Red Sox may have the worst record in baseball, but fortunately for them, the season is young. That said, they need to start winning games before the hole they dig for themselves is too deep to overcome.