Let’s face it; a lot went right for the Boston Red Sox this season. They found their way to the playoffs despite being counted out all season long, eliminated the supposedly superior New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, and gave a vastly superior Houston Astros team a run for their money in the ALCS. Quite a turnaround for a team that was one of the worst in baseball during the shortened 2020 season.
Regardless of the disappointing finish to the season, the Sox are in good position to continue to be World Series contenders well into the future now. They filled out the roster with established veterans to help out their core of star players, and the result was a team that fell two wins short of their fifth World Series appearance of the 21st century.
But that doesn’t mean that this team was without it’s flaws this season. They had all the momentum against Houston in the ALCS after going up 2-1 in the series, and were just six outs away from taking a 3-1 lead in Game 4 before the wheels fell off.
While the struggles this team faced cannot be placed on just one player, there were certainly a couple of players on the season that failed to step up and meet the expectations that had been set for them coming into the season. Let’s take a look at three players that failed to meet expectations this season, starting with one of the more confusing collapses on the season.
Boston Red Sox player who failed to meet expectations No. 3: Matt Barnes
Coming into the season, expectations weren’t necessarily high for Matt Barnes. He was tabbed as the closer for the second straight season despite not being overly successful in the same role during 2020. There was definitely some skepticism surrounding Barnes and whether or not he would be able to hold up in the ninth inning for the Sox.
For the first half of the season, Barnes silenced his critics in quite commanding fashion. He earned his first ever All Star appearance after picking up 19 saves and holding a crisp 2.68 ERA during the first half of the season. Barnes ERA would drop all the way down to 2.25 before everything unraveled in August.
Barnes went from being the stalwart at the back of the bullpen to being left off the ALCS roster in the postseason. He came into the season with limited expectations, raised the bar impressively, and then reverted back to his inconsistent ways of the past. It was a whirlwind of a season for Barnes, and it has left Red Sox fans everywhere wondering what his future holds with the team.
Barnes finished the season with OK numbers (6-5, 3.79 ERA, 24 SV, 84 K), but the fact that he was left off of both the initial postseason rosters (he was added as an injury replacement in the ALDS) should pretty much tell you what you need to know about Barnes’ season. Manager Alex Cora really could not justify using Barnes, who was either blowing leads or getting outs in an extremely painful manner.
For a point in time this season, it seemed like Boston has found their closer for the next few seasons. Instead, they are almost certainly going to be looking for a new closer this offseason. Barnes met expectations early on, but his failure to do so in the second half of the season killed the bullpen, and for that reason, he finds his way onto this list.
Boston Red Sox player(s) who failed to meet expectations No. 2: Martin Perez/Garrett Richards
The Red Sox starting rotation was fantastic to start the season. It seemed like no matter who was pitching on the night, they were bound to make it at least five innings in the game and make sure the lineup had a chance to win the game. However, the rotation cooled off eventually, leading to a a pair of starters in Martin Perez and Garrett Richards being exiled to the bullpen once Chris Sale returned off the injured list and Tanner Houck was called up to the bigs for good.
Perez and Richards were expected to be innings eaters that would come out and get five innings when it was their turn, and for awhile they were. But they both unraveled midway through the season, and they were pretty much unusable for long stretches of the season.
Perez was re-signed last offseason after being Boston’s most consistent starter during the lost 2020 season. The burden of carrying the rotation was lifted off his shoulders with guys like Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez returning, and he slotted into the backend of the rotation. Perez was very solid through April and May, but quickly fell apart afterwards.
He gave up runs at an alarming rate, and rarely made it deep into games. A move to the bullpen didn’t work either, as the coaching staff tried to mold the converted starter into a lefty specialist without much success. He became a punching bag for opposing lineups, and it was never a good sign to see him warming up late in games, especially in the postseason.
Richards on the other hand showed fleeting moments of what he could be, but was seemingly sidetracked by the MLB’s sudden ban of sticky substances midway through the season. Richards was a goner after that, and failed to ever establish any sort of consistency on the season. He looked a bit better out of the bullpen than Perez, but he wasn’t signed over the offseason with the intent of throwing him in the bullpen due to his struggles.
Both Perez and Richards were brought in this past offseason to fortify the rotation, and the fact that they were eventually replaced proved that they failed to do just that. Luckily the team was able to adapt on the fly, but their struggles could have ended up costing this team it’s season. Ultimately, it would be a surprise to see either of these starters in the rotation by the time the 2022 season rolls around.
Boston Red Sox player who failed to meet expectations No. 1: Marwin Gonzalez
Yes that’s right folks, Marwin Gonzalez was actually a part of this team at some point this season. Gonzalez was signed last offseason to come in and help out primarily in the outfield, but he struggled immediately and was sent to the bench. Gonzalez never got going, and was eventually cut midway through the season, making him one of the few failed moves by general manager Chaim Bloom.
It’s fair to wonder whether Gonzalez was the player that benefitted the most from the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. While we just saw that guys like Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Carlos Correa are good whether they know what pitches are coming or not, the same isn’t true with Gonzalez.
For reference, Gonzalez’s best season came in 2017 during the height of the scandal when he hit .303 with 23 home runs and 90 runs batted in, all career highs. This season, Gonzalez could only muster a .202 average with just two home runs and 20 RBI’s. Seems a bit telling if you ask me.
Regardless, Gonzalez was basically expected to come in and fill a role similar to that of Kike Hernandez. Gonzalez was initially tabbed as an outfielder, but he can play pretty much all over the field. If he could have hit at around a .240-.250 clip like he had done for most of his career, it would be a steal for the Sox.
Instead, Gonzalez looked lost at the plate for most of the season, and was outperformed by Hernandez, Hunter Renfroe, and Christian Arroyo, and he never found a home at a specific position. After missing nearly a month on the injured list, Gonzalez came back and hit just 4/23 over his next seven games, paving his way out of Boston.
Coincidentally enough, Gonzalez was eventually picked up by the Astros at the end of August, but his struggles persisted. Gonzalez was expected to be a key piece of the 2021 Red Sox, but he ended up being so bad he was let loose in the middle of the season. As a result, nobody failed to meet expectations this season more than Gonzalez did, earning him the top spot on this list.