The Boston Red Sox failed to make the playoffs even though they got some great performances from these 5 players this season.
Well, this season was a disaster for the Boston Red Sox. After winning the World Series in 2018 this is not what we expected from the team.
Now everyone understands how hard it is to repeat in MLB. The competition is tough and after so many games players can be wiped out.
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I don’t know if anyone expected the Red Sox to win the World Series again, but we all expected them to compete in the playoffs. The fact that Boston missed the playoffs is just sad. They had basically the same roster as 2018.
At least we know the team is taking their shortcomings seriously. They have already fired Dave Dombrowski and there could be some more changes to come. Luckily for Alex Cora, it seems like his job is safe.
Even though the Red Sox struggled they did get some pretty stellar performances from all over the field. Some players even had the best seasons of their career.
But their great play was all for not. The only good it will do them is to boost their pockets when contract discussions begin. One can only hope that when next season begins they will be able to build off of their impressive play.
So here are the 5 players who had their great seasons wasted in 2019.
1. Rafael Devers
The star of the Red Sox this season was far and away Rafael Devers. The 3rd baseman was smashing the ball at the plate. You couldn’t have asked for a better season from the youngster.
Devers didn’t just have a good year for a young player. He was one of the best players in all of MLB. Devers had a .309 batting average with 31 home runs and 114 RBIs.
That is just an amazing season. Devers looks like he could be one of the brightest stars in baseball. Also, Devers is top 5 in all of baseball in hits and tied for 8th in RBIs.
If Devers can continue to play like this the Red Sox will have struck gold. They will have their long term third basemen. Hopefully, Devers will be able to bring home some hardware, but he won’t be lifting the World Series trophy this October.
2. Eduardo Rodriguez
If Rafael Devers was the star at the plate, Eduardo Rodriguez was the star on the mound. The lefty finished the season strong and was the Red Sox’s ace.
Rodriguez didn’t have a great start to the season losing his first two games of the season, but he quickly turned things around by not surrendering a loss in 7 appearances.
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The lefty ended up with the most wins and appearances of his career. Rodriguez finished the season with a record of 19-6 with a 3.76 ERA. He also pitched the most innings of his career and recorded a career-high in strikeouts as well.
Boston is in quite the predicament with their starting rotation. They have a lot of money tied up to some aging players.
Chris Sale had one of the worst seasons of his career and David Price wasn’t the ace that we saw last season. If they continue to struggle the Red Sox will be forced to heavily rely on the offense to score a decent amount of runs each and every night.
Hopefully, Rodriguez will continue to pitch well and help the Red Sox for many more seasons.
3. Xander Bogaerts
One of the best signings that the Red Sox made this offseason ended up being Xander Bogaerts. The investment they made in him seems to be paying off rather quickly.
Boston made a smart move in locking up the young shortstop. They signed him to a 6-year extension worth $120 million.
Bogaerts was great at the plate. He had a batting average of .306 and had 32 home runs and 112 RBIs. Like Devers, Bogaerts was smashing the ball.
There is a good chance that we see Bogaerts become one of the faces of the team. With it very well possible that Mookie Betts leaves Boston, Bogaerts will be one of the team’s top players and with his new contract fans can expect him to be with the team for a long time.
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I expect to see Bogaerts hitting bombs over the green monster for many years to come.
4. J.D. Martinez
Out of all the players that the Boston Red Sox desperately tried to acquire these past few seasons J.D. Martinez has been one that hasn’t struggled.
Martinez might not have been the same player that he was in 2018 but he still had quite the season. In 2019 Martinez had a .302 batting average with 35 home runs and 103 RBIs. Even as heads deeper into his 30’s, Martinez still has a knack for hitting the ball out of the park.
It will be interesting to see if Martinez is able to keep up this level of play. He already is used primarily as a DH and that will only increase as he continues to get older.
The window for Martinez to win another World Series is only getting smaller. That’s why it is so disappointing to see seasons like these wasted on a team that didn’t even make the playoffs.