Congratulations, Red Sox: You won’t have to pay Rafael Devers a bunch of money when he (probably) isn’t very good anymore. You have successfully rid yourself of the unpleasant burden that is paying a player when he is well past his prime. More pertinently, you have shipped away a player whose inflexibility about his position proved too problematic to keep in the clubhouse. His unwillingness to pick up a glove to help the team in its time of need had pushed your relationship beyond repair, and now he’s gone. You did it. Hooray.
Now what?
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For a franchise famously known for going eight-plus decades without a World Series, the Red Sox have had quite the surplus of success in the 21st century. Boston has won more World Series titles in the past 25 years than any other franchise — not to mention the gaudy collection of championships amassed by the city’s other sports teams — cementing a sky-high standard for a fan base that has come to expect not just competitiveness but also contention nearly every season.
But now, after a maddeningly uneven first 73 games and an industry-rattling trade that exported the team’s best hitter to the other league and other side of the country, the Red Sox are staring down the possibility of missing the postseason for a fourth consecutive year — something this franchise hasn’t done since 1991 to ‘94.
Or maybe not. Following an emphatic and invigorating series sweep of the Yankees, the Red Sox are above .500 for the first time since May 24 and have won five in a row for just the second time this season. Maybe the unpopular and bold decision to trade the face of the franchise and a world-class bat is the first in a series of moves that will better position this team for short- and long-term success. Or maybe the American League is wide-open enough that the Red Sox roster as currently constructed is good enough to snag a playoff spot.
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Exactly how the Red Sox proceed from here is uncertain, but what’s clear is that some big-picture questions need to be answered sooner rather than later. Let’s dig into three of those now.
How do you replace one of the best hitters in baseball?
It’d be plenty difficult to replace Devers’ bat if the Red Sox had dealt him amidst one of his more standard seasons, one that saw his offensive stats rank among the 20-or-so best in baseball. But Devers has seemingly gone up a level this year. Since his bizarre 0-for-19 slump with 15 strikeouts to start the…