Boston Red Sox
2024 record: 81-81
Third place, AL East
Team ERA: 4.05 (16th in MLB)
Team OPS: .741 (7th in MLB)
What Went Right
The season started off on a surprisingly high note for the Red Sox as they headed into the All-Star break with the 9th-best record in baseball at 53-43. A lot of that had to do with new pitching coach Andrew Bailey and his work with the rotation. Boston’s de-emphasis on fastball became a major talking point around baseball and the rotation had a 3.63 ERA that was tied for 6th in baseball. While that production didn’t last, the Red Sox did get career-high innings totals from Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, and Brayan Bello. Houck finished with an elite season, posting a 3.12 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 20.7% strikeout rate. Bello and Crawford faded down the stretch, but both showed well enough at times to remain key pieces of a rotation that needs an ace.
Offensively, the Red Sox got typically elite production from Rafael Devers, whose season-long numbers took a hit while playing through a shoulder injury for the final month of the season. The Red Sox also hit a home run with the off-season trade for Tyler O’Neill, who batted .241/.336/.511 and led the team with 31 home runs. Jarren Duran also emerged as an All-Star, hitting .285/.342/.492 with 21 home runs, 111 runs scored, and 34 steals while rookies Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu played well above-average defense in the outfield while flashing offensive upside. While neither put up an eye-popping batting average, they tied for 8th among all rookies with 15 home runs, Rafaela was 8th among rookies in runs scored, while ABreu was 12th, Rafaela was 3rd in RBIs while Abreu was 10th, and Rafaela was 8th among rookie in stolen bases. Fellow rookie David Hamilton also flashed game-changing speed, leading all rookies with 33 stolen bases while filling in admirably for Trevor Story and likely cementing a role for himself as a bench infielder and pinch runner going forward.
What Went Wrong
The Red Sox really needed an ace at the top of their rotation, so it was a kick in the gut to see Chris Sale likely win the NL Cy Young for the Braves after the Red Sox traded him in the offseason for Vaughn Grissom. It was doubly troubling that Grissom battled multiple injuries during the year and hit just .190/.246/.219 in 31 games. All teams deal with injuries, but the Red Sox were hit hard by some key ones, having potential ace Lucas Giolito get hurt in spring training and then losing both Triston Casas and…