The biggest questions facing Red Sox ahead of 2023 season
BOSTON -- Spring has arrived, at least in the sense that the Red Sox will start throwing around baseballs down in Florida. Wednesday is the first official workout for Boston's pitchers and catchers, though many players have already checked in and begun their preseason work in Fort Myers.
That's a good thing, because there are a whole lot of question marks all over the roster and a few messes to sort out before March 30. Alex Cora has over a dozen new players on the roster, as his Red Sox look to bounce back from a last-place finish last year.
Projections for this team are all over the place. If everything goes right -- and we mean everything -- maybe this team will surprise people and compete for a Wild Card spot. But if just a few things go wrong -- and a lot could go wrong -- the Red Sox will likely once again be stuck in the basement of the American League.
Dan Roche does a pretty good job at putting a positive spin on things in the video above, since he always looks at the bright side of life. But here are the big glaring questions that are hounding the Boston Red Sox ahead of the 2023 season.
The Rotation
The starting rotation is the biggest concern heading into the season. There are currently seven guys competing for the five spots in Boston's rotation -- Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Nick Pivetta, Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, and James Paxton -- but none of those seven are a sure thing.
Sale has pitched just 48.1 innings over the last three seasons thanks to Tommy John surgery, a rib cage injury, a broken pinky, and an unfortunate fall off his bike. He's done very little pitching for the Red Sox since his five-year, $145 million extension kicked in.
He's set to be the ace of the staff in 2023. He says he's feeling healthy and better than he has in years, but that doesn't really say much. And how long will that last?
After Sale is the soon-to-be 37-year-old Corey Kluber, who went 10-10 over 31 starts for the Rays last season. He may be the closest to a sure thing in the rotation this season given his past success. But given his age, that is no guarantee.
Nick Pivetta was the only consistent arm last year, taking the mound 33 times, but he was an absolute disaster against the AL East. Against division foes, Pivetta was 1-8 with a 6.72 ERA. Woof.
Bello has some electric stuff and should slot into the back part of the rotation. As we saw last season though, there will be growing pains. Whitlock started last season in the pen before being thrown into the rotation out of necessity. Hopefully he'll start this season with a little more clarity about his role.
If everyone else is healthy, and Whitlock is part of the rotation, Houck will likely start the season in the bullpen. And as for Paxton, he has pitched just 1.1 innings over the last two seasons. Extended spring training is likely in the cards for the 34-year-old, and it's difficult to expect much of anything out of the southpaw. If the Red Sox can get anything out of Paxton, it will be a bonus.
Add all of that up and the starting rotation is one giant question mark with several other question marks littered throughout. Can Sale be an ace -- and for how long? Can Kluber give the Sox some solid starts as their No. 2 guy in the rotation? Can the young guns live up to the expectations, and surpass them in necessary? Will James Paxton make an appearance at any point?
Lots of questions. Not a lot of answers.
Who handles those pitchers?
A steady presence behind the plate may help everyone on the pitching staff. But there is no surefire starter at backstop right now.
Reese McGuire and Connor Wong will likely start as a tandem until one of the two emerges as the main guy. McGuire actually swung a pretty decent bat when he arrived in Boston last August, hitting .337. But can he produce if he's behind the plate every day? He's never played more than 89 games in a season, a career-high he set last year between the White Sox and the Red Sox.
Wong is a good defensive catcher, but we still don't know if he can hit Major League pitching. A dark horse candidate behind the plate is Jorge Alfaro, who was signed to a minor league deal.
Who protects Raffy?
Enough pitching talk. Let's shift gears and look at the offense. Rafael Devers is the face of the franchise now after signing a monster 10-year, $313.5 million extension, and he's going to need to put up some Herculean numbers to get this team going.
But Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez are gone, so we're left wondering who will protect Devers in the lineup. He primarily hit second last season, but with Masataka Yoshida likely leading off, Cora will probably want to avoid two lefties to start the order. Enrique Hernandez could hit between Yoshida and Devers, with Justin Turner, Tristan Casas, and Adam Duvall making up the four-through-six spots in the lineup. That would keep the lefty-righty balance in order, but they may not be scary enough to protect Devers.
There is a lot of potential in the lineup, but the middle of the lineup is going to have to prove itself to get Devers good at-bats throughout the season.
International Man of Mystery
Yoshida is the most intriguing player on the team, a great unknown as he comes over from Japan. The Red Sox are obviously high on the 29-year-old after giving him a five-year, $90 million contract. And he could bring stability to the top of the order thanks to his discipline at the plate and ability to slap the ball pretty much anywhere. That big green wall in left field should become his best friend, and Yoshida could really rack up an impressive amount of doubles at Fenway Park.
The other side of the coin is his defense, which is a big question mark. But again, that big wall means Yoshida doesn't have a lot of ground to cover in left, which should work to his benefit.
There will be a lot of pressure on Yoshida to make an immediate impact, but if his bat translates well, the Red Sox could be set at the top of the order for the next five years.
Other questions...
Will Casas be a big hit? The Red Sox have a lot of faith in the 23-year-old Casas, given they designated a free Eric Hosmer for assignment. Casas has shown his power at the big league level, but can he be consistent at the plate?
Who mans the middle of the infield? Xander Bogaerts is now in San Diego and Trevor Story isn't expected to play this season due to an elbow injury. Hernandez is set to take over at shortstop, but he's never played a full season at the position. Christian Arroyo looks like the front-runner to man second base, but can he do it for an entire season?
Health is the biggest question mark with those two, which is why Chaim Bloom went out and got Adalberto Mondesi, who is still recovering from a torn ACL. So it looks like health is a big concern with him as well.
Maybe it will all work out in the end, but things could get messy up the middle for Boston.
Can Verdugo hit all season? The Red Sox are going to need much more consistency out of Alex Verdugo this season. He had some really good months (slashing .337/.400/.505 in June and .330/.393/.884 in August) but he also had some really bad months (hitting .219 with just eight extra-base hits in May).
He's shown that he can be a talented and dangerous bat, but that same bat is prone to extended cases of frostbite. Maybe a little more consistency will help him generate a little more pop as well.
How quickly will Justin Turner become a fan favorite? It shouldn't take long for Red Sox fans to fall in love with the big redhead. A two-time All-Star and World Series champ with the Dodgers in 2020, Turner should fit into the market just fine.
He does have some big shoes -- or rather, a big jersey -- to fill though. The Red Sox wasted no time reassigning the No. 2 jersey to Turner.
Will the pen be mightier? The Boston bullpen was a mess last season. And that is putting it as nicely as possible.
There should be much more stability this year, with closer Kenley Jansen locking things down. The additions of Chris Martin and Joely Rodriguez should also help.
If only there was as much stability in the rotation...
