The Red Sox Have Lost Their Mojo; They Need to Get It Back

 

For almost the entirety of the 21st Century, the Red Sox have been a hugely popular franchise in New England and beyond. Many New Englanders have relocated around the country over the years, yet have maintained their allegiance to the Sox. Hence, “Red Sox Nation” is a legitimate title.

Though ownership may have, perhaps, manipulated it, the Red Sox set the record for the longest home sellout streak in major pro sports history, at 820 games. The streak extended from May 15, 2003, through April 10, 2013. During the streak, more than 30 million fans went through the turnstiles at Fenway and the average attendance was 36,605 fans per game.

Tickets were hard to get, unless you were willing to be gouged by scalpers. I can remember tickets still being sold well above face value in the fourth inning of a game. I said no way; the scalper wouldn’t budge, certain he would find a taker at his price. 

Winning four World Series Championships this century, the most in baseball, made the Red Sox revered among their fans. The team’s whipsaw fortunes didn’t make the fan base fickle either. The Sox famously went from last place in 2012 under Bobby Valentine, to World Series winners in 2013 under John Farrell. But the club again sank into last place in both 2014 and 2015. Despite this, the Red Sox fought their way back into first place for the next three years, culminating with another World Series win in 2018. 

At that point, the future looked bright. The Red Sox had a core of young, homegrown players, including Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr., Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers. They also had the resources to sign top free agents, such as J.D. Martinez, and to trade for an ace, such as Chris Sale. There was every reason to believe that the Red Sox good fortune would extend well into the future. 

But then an odd thing happened: the same Red Sox team that had won 108 games in 2018 won just 84 in 2019, finishing in third place. The team seemed to grow complacent, and lost its fire. They seemed to believe they would win again just by showing up. However, it doesn’t work that way. 

Boston had the fourth-highest payroll in baseball that year, north of $204 million. It would be fair to say that John Henry and Co. didn’t get what they paid for, and neither did the fans who bought tickets or the MLB package. The owners surely had to wonder: Why pay all that money for a third-place finish? A shakeup seemed in order. Yet, few expected what was to come.

In February, 2020, Boston pulled off a daring, some would say shocking, trade with the Dodgers that sent away all-world talent Mookie Betts and former Cy Young winner David Price, who, despite his struggles in Boston, was instrumental in winning the 2018 World Series. 

Many Red Sox fans were stunned. Some were apoplectic. Some wrote off the team entirely, vowing never to be Sox' fans ever again. Betts was drafted and developed by the Red Sox and had become, along with Mike Trout, one of the two best players in the game. 

To make matters worse, Chris Sale announced in March that he would need to have Tommy John surgery to repair his left elbow. Then No. 2 pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez was stricken by COVID-19 and would ultimately miss the entire 2020 season. 

From that point, it was fairly easy to predict that the Red Sox would not be competitive in 2020. It turned out that they were horrible, finishing with the fourth-worst record in baseball. There was blame to be spread all around, but Boston's pitching was horrendous. Red Sox pitchers allowed 5.85 runs per game last season, the most for the franchise since 1932.

The upside is that the Red Sox will have the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft. It will mark their highest draft pick in 54 years. 

The Sox need pitching help. They also need to shore up second base, and they need a replacement for Jackie Bradley, who is a free agent and unlikely to return. 

The Red Sox have sought to address their roster problems by signing free agents Martin Perez, Matt Andriese, Garrett Richards, Hunter Renfroe and Kiké Hernandez. Then they traded for Adam Ottavino. 

After adding these six players, the Red Sox luxury tax payroll stands at around $206 million (according to FanGraphs), which is just $4 million below the luxury tax threshold. This means the Red Sox are likely done adding any substantial pieces this offseason (including re-signing Bradley), barring a trade. That $4 million may be needed for a mid-season addition, should the Red Sox over-perform and have a legitimate playoff shot, or should someone get injured and need replacing.

Some of the new additions, such as Richards, Renfroe and Hernandez, could prove to be pleasant surprises. Eduardo Rodriguez could return to his 2019 form, when he looked like a No. 1 pitcher. Alex Verdugo may continue to bloom and become an All Star. Rafael Devers may revert to the 2019 trajectory that made him look like a budding super star. Xander Bogaerts may continue being a consistent producer. J.D. Martinez may rediscover his swing. And Chris Sale could return by June.

Yet, even if all of this proves to be true, the Red Sox have improved only marginally from last season, while the Yankees and especially the Blue Jays improved considerably. Oh, and Tampa went to the World Series last year.

The Red Sox appear to be at least a year or two from contention, and players around the league know this. Boston is a rebuilding ball club, which is hurting the Red Sox ability to recruit high-quality free agents.

For many years, Boston was a destination for top free agents. Not at present. The Red Sox lost out on free agent pitcher Corey Kluber to the Yankees (because they are contenders) and then watched infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar choose to re-sign with the Padres (because they are contenders) rather than go to Boston. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweeted that the Red Sox “tried hard” to sign Profar before he ultimately returned to San Diego.

This is one of the secondary outcomes of becoming a bad ball club. Players are now choosing the ascendent Padres over the Red Sox, which was unimaginable for decades.

If the Red Sox don't soon put together a competitive team, they will not only continue to lose out on top free agents, they will also continue to lose fans.

The Red Sox need to act boldly to improve the product on the field. There's a lot riding on it.

I understand management's sense that they may not be a truly competitive playoff team for another 2-3 years. But, after their hugely disappointing 2019 season, trading Mookie last winter and then fielding a team loaded with castoffs last season, the Sox have a major PR problem on their hands and they need to mend fences with the fans.

Baseball already struggles to attract young people. The Red Sox had better act decisively or they risk losing a generation of fans. As it stands, Boston suffered the biggest ratings decline in MLB last season, down a whopping 58% from 2019. They need to give people a reason to watch this year.

As it stands, their underwhelming free agent signings have not done that. Most incredibly, the Red Sox are slipping into irrelevance with their once-rabid fan base. Rebuilds don’t fly in Red Sox Nation.

Consider this: the Dodgers have won eight consecutive NL West titles, a remarkable achievement. Consequently, they pick low in the draft each year. That hasn’t stopped them from having one of the best minor league systems in baseball. From 2015-2019, the Dodgers farm system was ranked in the Top-10 and in 2020 it slipped to No. 11, according to MLB.com. 

Meanwhile, the big-market Dodgers continue to splurge on free agents and expensive trade acquisitions. 

The Yankees have done much the same, finishing no worse than second in the AL East for the past seven seasons, with the exception of 2016, when they finished in fourth. There is no rebuilding in the Bronx; they do it on the fly, using their bountiful resources creatively, and remaining competitive year in and year out.

The Dodgers and the Yankees are the teams the Red Sox need to emulate, not the Rays. Boston has the ability and resources to do so. It just needs the will.

RIP, Hank Aaron. You Seemed Immortal.

 

April 8, 1974: Hank Aaron hits home run No. 715 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium

Hank Aaron is a Hall of Famer and a baseball legend. Yet, he is somehow still underrated and under-appreciated, his prowess often overshadowed by Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, as well as his contemporaries, Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle. Yet, Aaron's on-field feats seem like the stuff of fiction.

It’s part of baseball lore that Aaron eclipsed Babe Ruth’s seemingly unsurpassable 714 home-run mark in April 1974. By the time he finished his career two years later, Aaron had amassed a whopping 755 homers. That record stood for 33 years, until the Giants’ Barry Bonds surpassed Aaron’s mark in August 2007, and went on to hit 762 homers. But it is widely-understood that Bonds was a PED user and a cheater. Baseball purists don’t recognize Bonds’ inflated achievement and still recognize Hammerin’ Hank as the all-time home run king.

Aaron won the National League’s single-season home run title four times, though his highest total was only 47, in 1971. That's right; Hammerin’ Hank never hit as many as 50 homers in a single season. Yet, he was the model of consistency year in and year out, topping 20 home runs a record 20 times. He is also one of only two players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times. And Aaron’s power didn’t fade as he got older; he hit 40 home runs at age 39, making him just one of two players to do so. Aaron personified sustained excellence.

The truth is, Aaron was a complete hitter who batted at least .300 14 times in his 23-year career. He was a two-time National League batting champion and had a career batting average of .305. Additionally, Aaron is No. 3 in career hits (3,771), behind Pete Rose and Ty Cobb. And he is one of only four players to have at least 17 seasons with 150 or more hits. Unlike most sluggers, Aaron never struck out 100 times in a season and he finished his career with more walks than strikeouts.

What’s more, Aaron is the only player in baseball history with at least 3,000 hits and 700 home runs. Get this: If Aaron hadn’t hit any home runs at all, he still would have surpassed 3,000 hits and been ahead of such players as Roberto Clemente and Wade Boggs.

Aaron still holds the MLB records for the most career runs batted in (RBI) (2,297), extra base hits (1,477), and total bases (6,856). And he remains No. 2 in at-bats (12,364), behind Rose, and is also in the top five in career runs (2,174).

Hamerin' Hank is one of only five players to have amassed 2,000 career RBI. He had more than Rickey Henderson (1,115) and Kirby Puckett (1,085), combined, and both are Hall of Famers.

Aaron has held the RBI record since 1975 and he will continue to hold it for many more years, perhaps permanently. Albert Pujols leads all active players, with 2,100 RBI. He is 41, entering the final season of his 10-year contract, and is a shadow of his former self. In short, he will not surpass Aaron.

Totaling 100 RBI in a single season is considered a great achievement by any player. Aaron practically averaged 100 RBI per season over his 23-year career, which is just astonishing.

Aaron was the National League’s most valuable player in 1957, when the Milwaukee Braves beat the vaunted New York Yankees and won their only World Series championship. He was voted an All-Star in all but his first and last seasons, holding the record for the most All-Star selections, with 25. And he won three Gold Glove awards for his play in right field.

The scouting report on Aaron, when he was just 18-years-old, described his arm as ’strong’, his fielding as ‘good’ and his running as ‘fast.' That speed helped him on the base paths and in the outfield. Braves manager Bobby Bragan once said of him, “There aren’t five men faster in baseball, and no better base runner. If you need a base, he’ll steal it quietly. If you need a shoestring catch, he’ll make it, and his hat won’t fly off and he won’t fall on his butt. He does it like DiMaggio.”

After breaking his ankle during his rookie season, 1954, Aaron was never again on the disabled list for the rest of his 23-year career. That, alone, is greatness. And it's a testament to his toughness, commitment and dedication.

But, most importantly, Hank Aaron was a gentleman. He was humble and dignified, always carrying himself with poise and grace. He endured segregation and had to play in the Negro Leagues, and then suffered constant death threats over a two-year span while chasing Ruth’s home run record. However, his many lifetime achievements were capped with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.

Rest in peace, Henry Louis Aaron. You may have been the greatest baseball player of all time.

The Red Sox Should Lock Up E-Rod Now

 

Eduardo Rodriquez has one more year of arbitration-eligibility remaining before becoming a free agent after the 2021 season, at which time he will be just 28 years old.

If the lefty produces another season like 2019 (19-6, 3.81 ERA, 203 1/3 innings), he will be viewed as, perhaps, the top free-agent pitcher in the 2021 class.

Yet, Rodriguez has continually expressed his happiness in Boston, as well as his desire to remain with the Red Sox.

"I love it here and I want to stay here for a long time. If they want me to, I’ll stay here," E-Rod said after the 2019 season.

Yet, the Red Sox, at that point, still hadn't spoken to him about an extension. "I haven’t had that conversation yet, so I don’t know how that feels,” Rodriguez went on to say.

That still hasn't changed. So, what gives?

The Red Sox, like all other MLB teams, are dealing with the uncertainty brought about by the pandemic. Games without fans dramatically lowered revenues league-wide. MLB estimates that 40% of its overall revenue is tied directly to the presence of fans at live games.

Complicating baseball's revenue troubles even further, television ratings also suffered this season; both the Championship Series and the World Series saw a roughly 30% drop in viewership from the previous season.

The Red Sox' television ratings declined more this year than any other Major League Baseball team. According to a recent report from Forbes, Red Sox ratings on NESN were down 58% from 2019. That was significantly worse than the Los Angeles Angels, who saw the second-biggest drop at 40%.

Then there is the matter of Rodriguez's health and what his long-term prognosis looks like. The lefty contracted the coronavirus last summer and was devastated by the disease. He said it made him "feel 100 years old." However, he was recently cleared to begin his offseason throwing program and said he would begin strength-training this week.

Will he regain full strength? Rodriguez sure thinks so, telling MLB Network this week, "I will be 100 percent ready for next season.”

MLB Trade Rumors projects that Rodriguez will get $8.3 million through the arbitration process for the 2021 season, which will be his last year of eligibility.

Given his relative youth, Rodriguez would likely garner an open-market contract next winter in the range of at least five years at $15-$17 million per season, assuming that he performs well in 2021. If the Red Sox made him such an offer, Rodriguez would likely sign without a second thought.

The Red Sox rotation remains desperately thin at present. Chris Sale won't return until mid-season. Nathan Eovaldi is continually injured, having made as many as 30 starts just once in nine seasons. Martin Perez’s option was not picked up, making him a free agent. Tanner Houck has just three major-league starts under his belt. And Nick Pivetta has a 5.40 ERA after 94 career games, meaning he can viewed as nothing more than a reclamation project, despite his great potential.

In short, the Red Sox need Eduardo Rodriquez to be healthy and effective next year and beyond.

That’s something Chaim Bloom is surely considering right now, along with potential trades, non-tender pick ups, and free agents.

If the Red Sox have any desire or intention to spend this offseason, they surely have the payroll space to do so. Boston has a little under $161 million on the books for 2021, well shy of $210 million luxury tax threshold.

Let’s hope they spend wisely. Rodriguez would be a good place to start.

How Much Did Dave Dombrowksi Exhaust the Red Sox Farm System?

 

Dave Dombrowksi was at the helm when the Red Sox won the 2018 World Series. Some of Dombrowski’s trade acquisitions played a big role in securing Boston's ninth World Series title. Chris Sale, Craig Kimbrel and Drew Pomeranz, for example, were all acquired during Dombrowski’s tenure.

However, Dombrowksi has also been criticized for draining the Red Sox farm system in the process. In essence, he had a short-term plan, in which he cashed in many of his top-prospect chips for a chance at a title, and he won that bet.

In all, Dombrowksi traded seven of the Red Sox' top-10 prospects as president of baseball operations. Let’s review those deals:

• Dombrowksi traded Manuel Margot and Javier Guerra to the Padres in a five-player deal for Craig Kimbrel.

• He sent elite pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to San Diego for starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz.

• He traded Mauricio Dubon to the Brewers as part of a four-player package for setup man Tyler Thornburg.

• Dombrowski also dealt top-ranked prospects Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech and Luis Alexander Basabe to the White Sox for ace lefty Chris Sale.

Though these trades helped the Red Sox secure a World Series Championship in 2018, Dombrowski has been criticized for depleting the minor league ranks. Boston's farm system is currently ranked No. 25 by MLB.com.

Let’s look at how those seven players are faring:

Manuel Margot - center fielder, Tampa

Four seasons - .249/.304/.392/.696

Javier Guerra - SS/RHP, Padres

22 innings, 8.18 ERA, 1.81 WHIP

19 PA, .125/.263/.125/.388

Anderson Espinoza  - RHP, Padres

In July 2017, Espinoza was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. He underwent Tommy John surgery which sidelined him for the remainder of the 2017 season and the entire 2018 season.

Espinoza underwent a second Tommy John surgery in April 2019 and missed the entire 2019 season. He has yet to appear in the majors.

Mauricio Dubon - OF/2B/SS, Giants

Two seasons - 233 PA ,.278/.317/.411/.728

Yoan Moncada - 2B/3B, White Sox

Four seasons - .263/.337/.452/.789

Michael Kopech - RHP, White Sox

14.1 innings, 20 hits, 15 K, 5.02 ERA

In September 2018, Kopech underwent Tommy John surgery, causing him to miss the rest of the 2018 season plus the entire 2019 season. In July, Kopech announced he would be sitting out the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Luis Alexander Basabe - LF, Giants

Basabe has never made a plate appearance in the majors. However, he has appeared in two games this season as a pinch runner.

In summation, just two of these seven prospects have turned out to be serviceable major league players: Margot and Moncada.

As we can see, Margot has a .696 OPS after four seasons. It’s safe to say that he is not a big loss for Boston.

Moncada has shown more promise, especially after a 2019 season in which he slashed .315/.367/.548/.915, with 25 homers and 79 RBI over 132 games. However, 2019 was the outlier over Moncada's four seasons and he has regressed to his mean this year. Remove last season from his career totals and Moncada is slashing a less impressive .230/.310/.368/.678.

Sale has clearly been much more critical to the Red Sox’ fortunes, even though he underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the 2020 season. No Red Sox fan in their right mind would rescind the trade that sent Moncada to the White Sox for Sale.

The other five prospects haven’t yet developed into viable big leaguers and they may never.

The other thing that should be remembered is that prospects are supposed to matriculate through the minor league system and reach the major leagues. During Dombrowski’s tenure with Boston, Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi both graduated from the minors to the majors. Though neither player was drafted by Dombrowski, their matriculation thinned the ranks of the Sox’ minor league system. That’s what’s expected to happen; prospects aren’t supposed to remain in the minors forever just to maintain the strength of the farm system.

It’s also worth remembering that Dombrowski hired Alex Cora, who, Astro’s sign-stealing scandal aside, was instrumental in delivering the 2018 World Series title. 

Dombrowski also signed free agents David Price, J.D. Martinez, and Mitch Moreland, who were all critical in winning that title.

Additionally, Dombrowski obtained 2018 World Series MVP Steve Pearce in a trade that sent minor league infielder Santiago Espinal to Toronto. Espinal made his major league debut with the Blue Jays just this season. That seemingly minor deal had huge ramifications for Boston.

Dombrowski also acquired Nathan Eovaldi for lefty Jalen Beeks in a July 2018 trade with Tampa. Without Eovaldi, the Red Sox wouldn’t have won the 2018 World Series. The subsequent four-year, $68 million free-agent contract that Dombrowski gave him may be regrettable in retrospect, but the acquisition of Eovaldi was still critically important to the Red Sox’ fortunes.

It’s also worth noting that Beeks has thrown 174.1 innings in the majors, delivering a 4.54 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. Over those 174 innings, the lefty has allowed 188 hits, while striking out just 157 batters. Additionally, Beeks tore his ulnar collateral ligament in August and subsequently underwent Tommy John surgery. He is expected to miss the entire 2021 season. It’s safe to say that the Red Sox have not, and will not, miss him.

Almost any critique of Dombrowski’s tenure as the Red Sox president of baseball operations involves his decision to trade some top prospects. However, absent those trades, the Red Sox wouldn’t have won the 2018 World Series. And, in retrospect, none of those prospects has developed into an elite player. None of them, not even Moncada, looks like the type of player around whom the Red Sox could have built their roster.

With all that in mind, Dombrowski deserves credit, not blame.

The weaknesses in the Red Sox’ farm system are related to players, drafted before Dombrowski’s tenure, failing to reach the majors.

However, Bobby Dalbec, Tristan Casas were both drafted under Dombrowski’s watch, and both appear to have bright futures. Each could be critical in the Red Sox pending rebuild; that’s worth remembering now and in the years ahead.

Current Red Sox Team Among Worst in Franchise History

 

Martin Perez, who has a 2-4 record, a 4.07 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP, has been the Red Sox' best pitcher this season.

When I was a kid, in the '70s and '80s, the Red Sox usually fielded good teams. They were rarely great, but they were often good enough to provide some heartbreak by season's end. Though they went to the World Series in '75 and '86, they lost in seven games both times.

However, they were rarely a terrible team either.

This century, we've witnessed four World Series Championships in Boston, which has been both breath-taking and joyous to behold. This is the Red Sox’ Golden Era. They are truly the team of the 21st Century. Yet, we've seen some real stinkers too; the 2012 team finished 69-93 and the 2014 team finished 71-91. In between, they somehow won a World Series in 2013, famously going from worst to first to worst again.

The Red Sox have fielded a lot of mediocre teams in their 120-year history, but relatively few truly terrible ones, like we're witnessing this season.

The franchise's low came in 1932, when the Sox finished 43-111 — a .279 winning percentage. The 2020 team needs go 17-43 to exceed that. Best of luck to them.

The current Red Sox club has a .316 winning percentage. Only two Red Sox teams have ever finished with a lower percentage. Just eleven times in their long history have Red Sox teams finished with a winning percentage below .400. This year will be the twelfth.

1965 - .383

1932 - .279

1930 - .338

1929 - .377

1928 - .373

1927 - .331

1926 - .326

1925 - .309

1922 - .396

1907 - .396

1906 - .318

As you can see, the 1922-1932 Red Sox teams were abysmal; be grateful we didn’t live through that. 

Few Red Sox fans can remember the last truly awful Red Sox team — the ’65 club. Their .383 winning percentage provides some perspective on the stunning rise of the 1967 “Impossible Dream” team, which beat all odds and somehow made it to the World Series… where they proceeded to lose to St. Louis in seven games. That was the year the Red Sox became iconic in Boston. They’ve been hugely popular throughout New England ever since.

Until now.

After winning 108 regular-season games and then the World Series in 2018, the 2019 club responded by going 84-78, finishing third in the AL East. Consequently, the defending World Series champs didn’t even qualify for the playoffs. That made many of us feel that they had become complacent, even lazy. They returned essentially the same championship team, yet were somehow a shadow of their former selves.

Then, in February, the Red Sox traded super star and fan favorite Mookie Betts, a highly unpopular move, though a wise one. Fans were justifiably angry and there was a backlash. The team surely lost some support in the process and, not surprisingly, ratings are down this season.

Yet, the Red Sox weren’t contenders with Betts and David Price on the roster last season. So, back in February, after the Red Sox traded the pair to the Dodgers, no one realistically expected the Red Sox to compete for a championship this year. They were a team in transition, resetting their payroll, with an eye on 2021 and beyond.

Then, in March, it was announced that ace lefty Chris Sale would need to undergo Tommy John surgery and would miss this season (and beyond). Next came the COVID-19 diagnosis for Eduardo Rodriguez, followed by a related heart infection. His season was also ended before it even began. At that point, all hope (whatever hope there might have been) was lost for the 2020 Red Sox.

Over the winter, the Sox replaced the departing Rick Porcello with Martin Perez, which has gone reasonably well to this point (4.07 ERA, 1.21 WHIP), but the team returned only one starter from last season — Nathan Eovaldi — who was supposed to be the anchor. To say the righty hasn’t lived up to his four-year, $68 million contract would be an understatement. This season, Eovaldi has gone 2-2, with a 4.98 ERA, which follows a 2-1, 5.99 ERA output in an injury-riddled 2019 season.

When you return one-fifth of your starting rotation and fill out the remaining holes with guys like Zack Godley, Ryan Weber and Kyle Hart, it’s little wonder that this Red Sox squad is in a battle not to be the worst in team history.

The Red Sox continued inability to develop starting pitchers haunts them, year after year.

No one expected JD Martinez to slash an uncharacteristic .233/.315/.403/.718 this season or for Rafael Devers to take a huge step back by slashing .257/.310/.458/.768 or that Andrew Benintendi would barely look like major leaguer while slashing .103/.314/.128/.442.

In short, everything that could have gone wrong for the Red Sox this season has gone wrong. But this is an anomaly. Things will surely turn around next year (at least somewhat) and in the years ahead. The Red Sox will again become contenders, rather than laughing stocks.

As I’ve previously contended, John Henry and Tom Werner have proven that they will consistently put a winning team on the field in most seasons. Since that duo bought the Red Sox in Dec. 2001, they've been first, second or third in payroll for 14 of those 19 years. Moreover, they've been top-six in spending for every single one of them. They’ve earned the benefit of the doubt, if not our trust. By the way, Boston still has the third-highest payroll in baseball this season.

The Red Sox are a big-market team with lots of spending capacity and a history of utilizing it. We have every reason to believe — to expect — that ownership will open the checkbook and become free agent spenders once again. However, they need to do it judiciously; no more unwarranted spending on players like Carl Crawford, Pablo Sandoval, Hanley Ramirez, and Nathan Eovaldi.

If you’re expecting the Red Sox to make a big splash on a free-agent pitcher this offseason, don’t. There will be a dearth of available talent, highlighted by names such as Marcus Stroman, Mike Minor, Jake Odorizzi and Robbie Ray.

This rebuild may take a while, so be patient, Red Sox fans. Chaim Bloom has his work cut out for him. The Red Sox farm system is currently ranked No. 25 out of 30 teams by MLB.com. That’s why Bloom made an effort in recent deadline trades to secure minor league talent to round out that system.

In the meantime, we’re left wondering if this unwatchable Red Sox unit will avoid the ignominious distinction of becoming the worst Red Sox team of all time. Ugh.