Boston Red Sox - The Covid-19 Years (2020-2029)

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2020

Decade

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Titles:

Top Red Sox Players of the Twenty Twenties

2021 - WC def NYY; ALDS def TB; ALCS lost to Houston

2025 - WC (Lost Yankees)

Pitchers:

Brayan Bello (7.37) - 26

BallPark:

Nick Pivetta (9.83) - 24

Fenway Park

Kenley Jansen (2) - 16

Garrett Crochet (6.3) - 14

Team Name:

Nathan Eovaldi (7.04) - 14

Red Sox

Tanner Houck (9.19) - 12

Aroldis Chapman (3.5) - 9

Owner:

Matt Barnes (1.58) - 9

John Henry

Kutter Crawford (4.38) - 8

Eduardo Rodriguez (1.45) - 8

General Managers:

Michael Wacha (3.28) - 7

Chaim Bloom (president 2020-23)

Brian O'Halloran (GM 2020-23)

Catchers:

Craig Breslow (2024-25)

Christian Vazquez (4.17) - 15

Connor Wong (5) - 10

Managers:

Carlos Narvaez (3) - 6

Ron Roenicke (2020)

Alex Cora (2021-2025)

First Basemen:

Bobby Dalbec (0.18) - 12

No Hitters:

Triston Casas (1) - 10

None

Justin Turner (2.1) - 6

Hall of Famers:

Second Basemen:

None

Christian Arroyo (2.18) - 2

Rookie of the Year:

ShortStop:

None

Xander Bogaerts (12.45) - 32

Trevor Story (7) - 18

MVP:

Enrique Hernandez (5.32) - 15

None

Third Base:

Cy Young:

Rafael Devers (16) - 47

None

Alex Bregman (4) - 8

Notable Events:

Outfield:

Jarren Duran (15) - 35

The Red Sox look like they are seriously trying to contend for the first time

Alex Verdugo (8.13) - 21

since they won the World Series in 2018. For whatever reason, after that

JD Martinez (3.5) - 18

World Series victory, Boston ownership decided to stop trying. The low

Ceddanne Rafaela (9) -16

point was the trade of SuperStar Mookie Betts to the Dodgers in 2020.

Wilyer Abreu (5) - 11

The franchise hasn't come close to recovering from the shock of that disaster.

Masataka Yoshida (4) - 8

The only thing we know about that trade is that if Betts were white, he never

Tyler O'Neill (4) - 8

would have been sent anywhere.

Hunter Renfroe (2.39) - 8

Anyway, Boston had a good year in 2025 winning 89 games and made it to the

Rob Refsnyder (2) - 7

Wild Card where they lost to the Yankees.

Boston had a very active off season and they are poised to make a move.

Notable Events:

Red Sox management has decided they want to be in the game again.

The Division is certainly there for the taking. Toronto won the division with a

Since the beginning of the last decade, the Red Sox have easily been the most

modest 91-71 mark and the Yankees, as long as Hal Steinbrenner is owner

unpredictable team in baseball. They have won titles when everyone expected them

and Brian Cashman is GM will never be anything more than a fringe playoff

to suck. And tney have sucked when everyone expected them to contend. It has

team, at best. Baltimore mysteriously has let go of the rope and Tampa Bay

been a roller coaster ride as they have been all over the place In the standings

can't always fight the force of gravity inflicted on them by never having any

year to year. In these sixteen years, they have finished last six times and first four.

money to spend on anything.

They also have five thirds and a second. Every year is an adventure.

Starting Pitching:

2020 - The Sox open up the decade on the heels of the worst trade in Red Sox

□ LHP Garret Crochet, 27, '25 Trade change of Sox,'25 18-5 2.59

history when they deal twenty six year old superstar outfielder Mookie Betts to the

□ RHP Ranger Suarez, 31, '26 FA from Phillies, '25 12-8 3.20

Dodgers rather than pay him. At the time, Betts was the best player in the game.

□ RHP Sonny Gray, 36, '26 Trade from STL, '25 14-8 4.28

It signalled that owner John Henry had lost interest in competing. And Boston really

□ RHP Brayan Bello, 27, '17 IFA, '25 11-9 3.35

hasn't competed since they won the World Series in 2018. Management decision.

□ RHP Kutter Crawford, 30, '17 draft 16th round pick, '24 9-16 4.36

□ LHP Patrick Sandoval, 30, '25 FA from Angels, '23 7-13 4.11

2021 - Big surprise second place finish at 92-70. Everyone thought they would suck

□ LHP Johan Oviedo, 28, '26 Trade from Pirates, '23 9-14 4.31

including Red Sox brass, but they were competitive and made the wild card.

□ LHP Payton Tolle, 23, '24 2nd round of, '25 0-1 6.06

□ LHP Connelly Early, 24, '23 5th round of draft, '25 1-2 2.33

2023 - The Sox finished last again, the third time in four seasons since the start

The Sox showed they are serious adding a couple of solid middle of the

of the decade. Not rock bottom, they are 78-84 both in '22 and '23 but not

rotation guys in Ranger Suarez of the Phillies and Sonny Gray of the Cards.

competitive for a title which is what Boston fans had become accustomed to.

Garret Crochet, last year's acquisition, developed into one of the top pitchers

in the game and is ace of the staffl. There is considerable depth at the bottom

2024 - More mediocrity at 81-81. Boston has been going thru GM's scapegoating

of the rotation in Crawford, Oviedo and Sandoval all coming back from arm

them for the lack of commitment by ownership. Chaim Bloom, Brian O'Halloran

surgery. There are also a couple of promising young lefties in Payton Tolle and

and Craig Breslow just in this decade alone. All because John Henry didn't want

Connelly Early. Starting pitching is a strength for Boston.

to pay Dave Dombrowski what he was worth after the 2019 season. There was a

lot more stability at the Field Manager spot where Alex Cora has managed since '21

Relief Pitching:

serving under three different GMs. Cora uses the sane approach of not blindly

□ Closer Aroldis Chapman, 38, '25 FA from Pittsburgh, '25 5-3 1.17 32 saves

following analytics but, instead, using them as another tool in the tool box to help

□ RHP Garrett Whitlock, 30, '21 Rule 5 draft from NYY, '25 7-3 2.25

in making decisions. Good for him.

□ RHPJustin Slaten, 28, '24 FA, from NYM, '25 2-4 4.24

□ RHP Greg Weissert, 31, '24 Trade from NYY, '25 6-6 2.82

2024 - A littany of players have come and gone throughout the decade, but the

□ RHP Zack Kelly, 31, '21 FA from Anaheim, '25 1-3 4.58

Sox have been essentially spinning their wheels. A look at the squad at the

□ LHP Jovani Moran, 29, '25 Trade from Twins, '25 0-0 6.75

beginning of the decade and you see good players like Bogaerts, Benintendi,

□ RHP Ryan Watson, 29, '26 FA, '25 AAA 4-3 4.26

Devers, Verdugo, Dalbec, JD Martinez, Eovaldi, and Pivetta. All gone.

□ LHP Tyler Samaniego, 27, '26 FA, '25 AAA 0-1 2.87

Then you see players come and go like Schwarber, Eduardo Rodriguez, Chris Sale,

A mediocre bullpen if it weren't for Chapman's miraculous resurgence from the

Michael Wacha, Justin Turner, James Paxton, Kenley Jansen, Corey Kluber,

dead. I can't recall anything like it. Chapman, who at one time was a great

Tyler O'Neill and Tanner Houck. A lot of churn, but no real direction.

flame throwing reliever, and really hadn't been his old dominant self since

2019 pitched better than he had ever done in his career. Wild stuff.

2025 - The Sox improve to 89-73 as some youngsters begin to emerge. It also

Whitlock and Weissert had solid years as setup men for Chapman last

helps that SS Trevor Story is finally healthy and that two pitchers with lots of

season. They are career journeymen as are the rest of the relief corps.

talent come out of nowhere to show it, big time, in Boston in Garrett Crochet

and Aroldis Chapman. The Sox make it to the Wild Card which, once again, is

Regulars:

a big surprise.

□ C Carlos Narvaez, 27, '25 trade from NYY, '25 15 50 .241

□ 1B Willson Contreras, 34, '26 trade from STL, '25 20 80 .257

□ 2B Romy Gonzalez, 29, '25 FA from White Sox, '25 9 63 .305

□ SS Trevor Story, 32, '22 FA from Colorado, '25 25 96 .263 31SB

□ 3B Caleb Durbin, 26, '26 Trade with Milwaukee, '25 11 50 .236

□ OF Jarren Duran, 29, '18 draft 7th round pick, '25 16 84 .256 24SB

□ CF Ceddane Rafaela, 25, '17 IFA, '25 16 63 .249 20SB

□ OF Roman Anthony, 21, '22 draft 2nd round, '25 8 32 .292

□ OF Wilyer Abreu, 27, '22 trade from Houston, '25 22 69 .247

□ C Connor Wong, 29, '20 trade from LA, '25 0 7 .190

□ 1B Tristan Casas, 25, '18 draft 26th overall pick, '25 3 11 .182

□ 2B Kristian Campbell, 23, '23 draft 4th round pick, '25 6 21 .223

□ 2B Marcelo Mayer, 23, '21 4th overall pick, '25 4 10 .228

□ SS Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, 31, '26 FA from Toronto, '25 2 40 .262

□ OF Masataka Yoshida, 31, '23 FA from Japan, '25 4 26 .266

The Sox didn't totally go all in in the offseason as they didn't want to match

the Cubs five year deal for 3B Alex Bregman. They did grab 1B Willson

Contreras from the Cards however - pretty much of a wash in productivity.

Boston got lucky with a couple of castoffs last year in Carlos Narvaez and

Romy Gonzalez. A big story was Trevor Story returning to all star callibre form.

But The Big Story is the young outfielders Rafaela and Anthony. They are

special.Overall the Sox have a solid lineup.